Utilization of Vehicle Dynamic Simulations as Predictors of Highway Safety

Abstract

Safety is a crucial consideration in the design of roadways, yet formal tools to study roadway safety prior to construction are often quite limited. As a possible new tool, this work investigates the iterative use of vehicle dynamic simulations to study vehicle-roadway interaction in order to optimize highway design for safety. Following a discussion of the history and accuracy of vehicle dynamic simulations, a methodology of roadway geometry analysis is presented. This methodology is demonstrated by an example scenario studying the safety of a depressed median of a rural highway when there is an in-median incursion. The vehicle type, vehicle speed, vehicle trajectory, and the driver’s corrective maneuvers are all varied in a simulation-based analysis to evaluate their respective effects on vehicle behavior including vehicle orientation, trajectory, and instabilities.

Why Do Drivers’ Collision Avoidance Maneuvers Tend to Cause SUVs to Sideslip or Rollover on Horizontal Curve and Grade Combinations?—An Analysis of the Causes Based on a Modified Multibody Dynamics Model

“…The authors concluded that the lower lateral stability (SSF) of SUVs means that they are more likely to roll over than pickup trucks. On the other hand, scholars have developed a simple point–mass model, transient BICYCLE model [ 9 ], and more complex multibody model [ 10 ] to describe the motion states and dynamics of vehicles. The lateral stability of passenger cars, SUVs, and trucks based on the SSF [ 11 ], lateral load transfer ratio [ 12 , 13 ], and friction margin [ 14 ], has also been studied extensively.…”