Truck Driving Parameters - A Comparative Study

Rescue and fire-fighting vehicles and other vehicles used by the fire department, such as tankers and aerial ladder trucks have typically a high centre of gravity. Driving such vehicles involves the danger of transverse stability loss and rolling over. This problem is augmented by inadequate driver experience due to the low mileage of emergency vehicles. The safety of a moving vehicle largely depends on its driving characteristics, which can be studied and compared, and these in turn can be the basis for the evaluation of the vehicle safety with a specific body design.The aim of the study was to develop a set of measuring devices for identifying driving properties for trucks. A dynamics study was conducted using constructed prototype solutions for selected trucks with a high centre of gravity, including emergency vehicles for fire departments. The study was performed during selected standard road tests for determining driveability properties. Three road tests were used to assess the road stability and manoeuvrability of the vehicles: driving in a circle in predetermined conditions, steering wheel jump while driving straight ahead, and braking while driving in a circle. The results of this study allow determining the characteristic values of parameters describing vehicle behaviour in each test and a comparative assessment of their safety in traffic. Moreover, the study constituted a verification of the developed system that can be used for dynamics tests and the evaluation of vehicle safety.