Tracking ability of an MCV on a rural road

Multi-combination vehicles (MCVs) are road freight vehicles comprising a prime mover towing two or more trailers. At each articulation point, movements occur due to the driver, vehicle, road and environment such as driver steering, vehicle length, road roughness and side wind loading, respectively. These lateral displacements dictate the lane width required for vehicles using the road and, if ignored or predicted inaccurately, can affect the cost or safety of the road. In this current study, a full scale testing programme was undertaken on a rough road to measure the lateral displacement of the rear trailer of a B-Double on a nominally straight path. Lateral movements of the trailers were extracted from the video data - these were relative to a moving frame of reference, namely the prime mover which was subject to driver steering inputs. Corrections were made for the relative angle between the prime mover and the trailers, which was found to vary with the applied steering angle. These corrections were found to result in an increased estimate of the lateral displacement and hence the lane width required.

• Authors:
  • Lennie, S
  • Bunker, J
• Conference:
  • CONFERENCE OF AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTES OF TRANSPORT RESEARCH (CAITR), 25TH, 2003, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 12p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Heavy duty vehicles; Lateral placement; Roughness; Steering; Tractor trailer combinations; Traffic lanes; Vehicle design; Vehicle safety; Width
• ATRI Terms: Angle; Articulated vehicle; B double; Lateral position; Roughness; Steering; Traffic lane; Vehicle design; Vehicle safety; Width
• Subject Areas: Design; Motor Carriers;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01390326
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 23 2012 4:44AM