VEHICLE ACCELERATION: OBSERVATIONS AND TEST RESULTS

While analyzing a sample computer accident reconstruction software program, the author noticed that the "accepted" acceleration rates were printed with results of acceleration-based calculations. The "accepted" values seemed unrealistically low. Concerns were expressed to the software company, and a company representative explained that their numbers were from the Northwestern University, "Traffic Accident Investigation Manual". Further, since no new data were available, they felt obliged to use these numbers. This prompted the author to conduct his own study on typical acceleration rates for various vehicles, and to see what effect, if any, the driver's gender had upon results. Vehicles were timed accelerating from a stopped position from a side street, stop light, fast food restaurant or shopping center and making a left turn onto another road. In each situation, after determining a typical path of travel of vehicles in that area, a specific distance (40 feet) was measured along that path of travel from a fixed starting point such as the edge of the road. Vehicles were timed using an ordinary stop watch, which was activated when the front tires crossed the start line and then stopped when the tires crossed the 40-foot line. Vehicle type, driver gender, and time taken to travel the measured distance were recorded. Vehicles were categorized into four groups: passenger vehicles, small trucks (pickups, vans and utility vehicles), tractor-trailer trucks and straight bed trucks (delivery trucks, dump trucks and buses).

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  3004 Charleton Court
  Waldorf, MD  United States  20602-2527
• Authors:
  • Muttart, J W
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: p. 54-56
• Serial:
  • Accident Investigation Quarterly
  • Issue Number: 10
  • Publisher: Accident Reconstruction Journal
  • ISSN: 1082-6521

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Crash investigation; Crash reconstruction; Drivers; Gender; Software; Traffic crashes; Vehicle tests
• Old TRIS Terms: Vehicle acceleration tests
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00723228
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 1 1996 12:00AM