[Fido969]

There was a similar accident here years ago. Apparently, the investigators looking at the wreck could determine whether the lights were on at the time of the crash by examining the wrecked bulbs.

[dp0622]

WOW

I was wondering if there was any forensics work that could be done. I never thought of that.

[chrisser]

Probably true with incadescents (they get hot and the bulb shatters when exposed to the cold water), but not so much with LEDs.

[DiogenesLamp]

There was a similar accident here years ago. Apparently, the investigators looking at the wreck could determine whether the lights were on at the time of the crash by examining the wrecked bulbs.

You can. Hot tungsten filaments will oxidize in a particular way when they are exposed to air while hot. Once the glass envelope is broken, such as in a crash, if the filaments are lit, they will quickly combine with oxygen. If they are not, they will look the same as they normally do when looking through the glass of the envelope.

[Rebelbase]

Took a tour of the FBI building in DC when I was a kid 50 years ago. The agent giving the tour said that they could tell if a car’s headlights were on or not at the time of an accident.