The transfer and persistence of automotive carpet fibres on shoe soles

C. Roux, S. Langdon, D. Waight, J. Robertson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The transfer and persistence of automotive carpet fibres to shoe soles was investigated. It was found that fibres were transferred with the normal activity of a car passenger. Carpet type and shoe sole parameters were significant determinants in the number of fibres that transferred. The average number of fibres was between about one and 33 per sole. Fibres that had been transferred after normal activity only persisted for a few minutes after walking. A survey of the shoe soles of people about to leave their car showed that fibres were usually present. The majority of shoe soles surveyed had less than five fibres with the greatest number of fibres found being 14. The likelihood of finding a large number of fibres on such soles is rare. Fibre composition of automotive carpets showed a high degree of variation. Grey was seen to be a common colour irrespective of the colour of the vehicle body.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)239-251
Number of pages13
JournalScience and Justice - Journal of the Forensic Science Society
Volume39
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 1999
Externally publishedYes

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