Hey Wa8yxm,
Energy does not equal force. F=M x D/time^2 or F=MA.
Metals have known bending moments.By using dimension of the metals involved, their attributes, the vector of the acceleration, the distortion of the metal, and the amount of acceleration, an investigator could estimate what force or speed was present. There are more variables, also like the fastening to other members and the attitude of what's hit. I'm gonna' assume a crash scene investigator pulls up some software and hits a few buttons. Maybe the data collection and technology hasn't advanced that far, I dunno.
