Rick August is an Expert Witness with extensive crash analysis experience in:
• defensive driving,
• traffic safety,
• commercial vehicles (trucks & buses),
• air brakes,
• road user behavior,
• and driver education.
Dr. August’s examination of a car accident includes a detailed analysis of those involved, their motivations, the site, and the evidence provided. He investigates collisions involving:
• Semi-Trucks & Trailers
• Air Brakes
• Transit & School Buses
• Vocational Vehicles (Dump, Cement, Garbage, etc.)
• Passenger Vehicles
• Cyclists
• Motorcycles
• Pedestrians and other vulnerable road users
Rick August, PhD is an expert in driving and crash analysis, with a rare combination of hands-on driving experience and advanced academic training. He earned a PhD in legal history from the University of Melbourne, Australia. His thesis examined the changing role of policing and law as authorities worked to uphold social order in the face of motor-cars’ advanced road speeds. His academic expertise is complemented by extensive practical certifications, including his Driving and Air Brake Instructor's License from the Ontario Safety League, earned in 1997. He has driven semi-trucks and buses in multiple countries, providing him with a deep understanding of the practical challenges faced by drivers worldwide.
Throughout his career, Dr. August has taught defensive driving, air brake systems, and driver safety courses across Canada, Australia, and the United States. In the early 2000s, he worked as a driver rehabilitation specialist, helping individuals recover their driving abilities after serious injuries or debilitating ailments. Currently, he is licensed as a commercial driver and air brake instructor in British Columbia.
In 2015, Dr. August expanded his impact by creating educational YouTube videos aimed at helping both young people and CDL drivers pass their driving tests and become safer, more responsible drivers. His combination of practical, instructional, and academic expertise makes him a respected authority in the field of driver safety and crash analysis.
Dr. Rick August brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role of an expert witness in the field of traffic safety. He has authored numerous reports on reasonableness and duty of care expected for bus and truck drivers. Changing lanes in an intersection, stopping near an intersection, and following too close, and driving faster than the condition of the road will allow are just a few of the drivers' errors that have led to collisions.
In other cases involving air brakes, Dr. August was retained to determine if the brakes applied during a front tire blowout. He was asked to determine if a driver applied the parking brakes during a vocational accident that killed a fellow worker. And in different cases it was asked that Dr. August opine on the mechanical fitness of the braking system, and if it passed DOT (Department of Transport) safety measures.
With extensive international experience teaching semi-truck and bus drivers—particularly those operating vehicles equipped with air brakes—Dr. August is uniquely qualified to offer insights into the complexities of commercial vehicle operation, traffic law, and defensive driving. He has authored two e-books, "Air Brakes Explained Simply" and "Driving Test Secrets", further demonstrating his ability to distill complex technical information into accessible knowledge.
