TARTplus 1.0 Traffic Accident Reconstruction Tools (c)1992 Grady Carrick The logical application of computers in daily life often proves to assist us in everything we do. The use of computers in accident investigation is no exception to this concept. Unfortunately, almost all the programs available fall short of potential assistance. TARTplus is a revolutionary software program to assist the accident investigator/reconstructionist with the task of evaluating crash variables. There is not a single program available today that is packed with the features found in TARTplus. TARTplus was developed because of the serious void in quality reconstruction software. The program stems from the suggestions of reconstructionists from around the United States, and is a compilation of what you and your peers determined valuable to a computer program for this purpose. The program is faster than any program available, and is designed with complete user friendliness in mind. TARTplus is based on a graphical user interface and makes use of icons and pull down menus to assist you in your use. Mouse support is standard in TARTplus, however by no means is a mouse required. The program supports a wide variety of video standards and printer standards, and is installed by means of a professional "SETUP" program. No other recon- struction program can compare to the speed and modern inter- face of TARTplus, because of the limitations of the program- ming languages used. Use of modern, higher language tech- niques provide TARTplus with power unmatched. Help is always there when you need it, with TARTplus. The TARTplus user manual is online and interactive. Just press the "F1" key and the online manual will appear. The help system is context sensitive and information concerning the operation you are in will be displayed. The online manual will follow you around the program and always display the help that you need right then and there. The standard features of TARTplus are the most impressive for a program of it's type. Here are just some of the features that set the program above the pack: Graphical User Interface Over 100 Crash Formuli Online/Interactive Help User Selectable Screen Colors Mouse Support Custom Print Features Sample Field Forms Built in Calculator Built in Calendar/Daybook Editable Formula Entry "Templates" Trigonometric Ratios Online Extensive Error Capturing Capabilities Selected Formula Derivations Actual Display of Formuli On-Screen TARTplus has more user selectable formuli than any other reconstruction program on the market. Some of the formuli included are: Speed and Velocity Momentum Formuli Acceleration Deceleration Motorcycle Formuli Truck Formuli Tangent Offset Flips/Vaults/Falls Drag Factor Lateral Acceleration Radius Formuli Center Mass Metric Conversions Trigonometric Ratios Hydroplane Formuli Kinetic Energy Formuli Time Formuli Distance Formuli Plus many more! TARTplus is the ONLY reconstruction program that provides you with sample field forms for gathering important infor- mation on the scene. Everyone aknowledges the importance of field notes and scene measurements, however ONLY TARTplus provides you with a means to capture that information. You may want to print all the various forms for field pack- ets, or even duplicate them in quantity for department-wide use. The field forms are free for anyone's use! There is NO program available today, with the features found in TARTplus, regardless of price! Far less capable programs are sold commercially for between $75.00 and $225.00. Some of these programs use password schemes and copy protection to further cumbersome use. TARTplus is a superior piece of software! I am so confident in the quality of the program that I will allow anyone to use it for an evaluation period of 30 days. If after the conclusion of 30 days, you agree, you may send in a check for $35.00 to REGISTER with the author. Registration will insure you get future versions, and are provided with support from the author. This concept is called "shareware" and is based on the try before you buy principle. Your honesty is the basis of the shareware principle. With TARTplus, you aren't bothered with a limited "demo" version to evaluate. You are afforded the full and complete working program to fully appreciate it's capabilities. You may distribute a complete copy of the program disks to anyone who would like to have it. You may not charge a fee for the program, and you cannot alter the program in any way. The free distribution of the complete program is what shareware is all about. Each individual is required to register with the author if continued use is assumed. The program is lawfully copyrighted, so you cannot use any part of TARTplus to create a similar program yourself. This does not restrict your right to copy and distribute the program, consistent with these instructions. * A quality product sells itself! Trust by the author denotes faith in quality and faith in the user. -------------------- INSTALLING TARTplus: TARTplus is programmed to be user friendly. The program is distributed on three (3)diskettes, and will take only about 1.7 megabytes of space on your hard drive. It will generally be distributed on either 3 HD 5.25 diskettes or 3 DS/DD 3.5 diskettes. Another distribution version is available on (6) DD diskettes, and for distribution on bulletin boards in the form of 6 diskettes. If you need the 360k version (6 diskettes), please contact the author. TARTplus supports the following hardware: DISPLAYS - VGA EGA HGA MCGA CGA Note that only EGA and VGA monitors will display color, however the pro- gram works the same regardless of monitor type. You do not have to have any special version of the program to work on different types of systems, TARTplus supports them all. The sophisticated programming in TARTplus will allow you to upgrade your monitor without having to secure another version of the program, simply redefine your monitor in setup. PRINTERS - Epson or Compatible IBM or Compatible HP Laser Compatible Almost all printers will support one or more of the above standards right out of the box. POINTING DEVICES - Most Microsoft, Mouse Systems, or Logitech devices. Note that you do not need a mouse to use TARTplus! The program actually supports both pointing devices and the keyboard at the same time! ---------------- To install TARTplus on your computer system, simply place disk 1 in the floppy drive (either A or B), and type SETUP followed by the enter key. The custom installation program for TARTplus will begin, and the program will locate the available space on your hard drive. As each successive screen appears, you will be prompted by appropriate instructions. You will first select the appropriate hard drive to install the program upon. Subsequent screens will prompt you to verify your monitor type, and desired subdirectory. You will see each file that TARTplus copies to your hard drive, as well as a percent bar. TARTplus will prompt you to change diskettes when necessary, untill all three diskettes are copied. Once all the files have been copied to your hard drive, the program will allow you to chose a printer. Thats all there is to it. The custom installation program does all the work for you. No cryptic batch files here! -------------- If you have a problem: If for some reason the SETUP program fails, try again. BE SURE TO READ EACH SCREEN CAREFULLY. The wide range of devices supported will almost always allow successful installation. If, in the unlikely event the program still terminates with an error message, try to manually create a subdirectory called TART and copy each diskette's contents to the subdirectory. To do this: 1 c:\md TART [enter] 2 c:\cd TART [enter] 3 c:\TART\copy a:*.* [enter] 4 repeat step 3 until all disks are copied 5 c:\TART\rename ibmpro.com printer.com [enter] ---------------- TO START THE PROGRAM: Go to the TART subdirectory on your hard drive and type TARTPLUS. THATS IT!!! ....................................................................... The registration fee for the program is a nominal $35.00. You simply won't find a better bargain! The price is kept low, because I want to prove that affordable quality software is important, and because I want everyone using TARTplus. I anticipate that additional program modules may be developed in the future, exclusively for registered users, so be sure to register your use. To register, simply send a check or money order, along with the regi- stration form that the program will print to: Grady Carrick 1011 NW 111 Avenue Miami, FL 33172 ENJOY THE PROGRAM !!! Make sure to write your comments in the space provided on the registration form. Previous comments were instrumental in creating this completly revised program. TARTplus was created based on what reconstructionists around the U.S. said was important. Another difference with user supported software, the user is the focal point, not marketing.