What typically causes tire prints to appear at a crash scene?

Tire prints typically appear at a crash scene when tires move through soft material or fluid. This happens when the vehicle's tires interact with surfaces like dirt, mud, sand, or wet pavement. The tread patterns of the tires leave an impression or mark, which can provide valuable evidence during a traffic crash investigation. These tire prints can indicate the vehicle's path, assist in determining the speed of the vehicle before the crash, and help reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident.

While other options may present scenarios that could affect tire behavior, they do not directly pertain to the creation of identifiable tire prints at a crash scene. For example, loss of tire pressure can impact vehicle handling but doesn't necessarily create distinct impressions. Accidental tire slippage during emergency maneuvers may result in different tire behaviors but not necessarily in prints left on the surface. Reckless driving on uneven surfaces could lead to losing control or skidding, but again, it does not directly connect to the formation of tire prints as clearly as interaction with soft materials does.