Safety

In order to provide reliable control algorithms on PATH automated highway system, knowledge of the transient aerodynamic forces is important from the point of the controlla- bility of the platoon and individual vehicles. In a passing maneuver, the platoon members may experience severe aerodynamic forces and yaw moment when another vehicle overtakes. Similar phenomenon can be seen in our daily life as one car passes the other but much more complicated flow field is expected when the interaction involves in a multi-vehicle platoon. It is the purpose of this study to quantify the unsteady...

Dynamically, heavy trucks are inherently different than passenger cars. In addition to the increase rollover risk arising from an elevated center of gravity height, heavy trucks possess additional failure modes such as jackknifing and excessive trailer swing. As a response to these issues, significant research has been performed in the last three decades to establish safety metrics for heavy trucks based on dynamic testing. This research has had an impact on determining acceptable size and weight restrictions for heavy vehicles and on the actual design of heavy trucks for increased safety...

Rest areas are a countermeasure for fatigue; what role do they play in fatigue-related freeway collisions? The present study spatially evaluates fatigue collisions. In California, of 2,203,789 highway collisions recorded between 1995 and 2005, fatigue collisions accounted for 1.3% (‘strict’ definition of fatigue) and 9.7% (‘expanded’ definition). Collisions in the vicinity of rest areas were investigated using two different approaches: 1. 10-miles up/downstream of rest areas 2. Distance traveled from rest areasSample t-tests indicated that both fatigue and non-fatigue collisions decreased...

The focus of this work is to derive a technique of safety analysis for an automated freeway system. To demonstrate the method of safety analysis a procedure called fault tree analysis is applied. The specified freeway operates with vehicles in platoons. The safety criterion used here is that two or more simultaneous faults must occur independently before the hazards can arise.