On-road Testing Research Articles

Setzung von Rechtsnormen unter Berücksichtigung der Praxis: Das Beispiel des Strafrechts

Zusammenfassung The article examines - with a multitude of examples - the complex method, in which criminal rules evolve in contemporary law. This happens in a continuing process, to which - in addition to the citizens - the legislator, criminal courts and the Federal Constitution Court contribute. The courts are not confined to applying the laws enacted by the legislator, which would be in accordance to a simple model of the separation of powers. The laws rather have to undergo an on-road test by the courts, during which they can prove to be practicable, difficult to handle or not practicable at all and therefore void. The legislator for his part takes note of the judicature and that often brings him to make further decisions. These include the abstaining from establishing new laws, the (plain or modifying) reception of some jurisdictional opinions, the changing of laws against their jurisdictional interpretation and the transformation of other than the jurisdictionally interpreted laws. All in all the criminal law proves to be a good example for the incremental evolution of norms, which occurs in a specific division of labour between the legislator, the criminal courts and the Federal Constitution Court.

Contextual Design for driving: Developing a trip-planning tool for older adults

Independent living depends on mobility, and mobility depends on driving, particularly for people 65years and older. The longer older adults can safely drive, the longer they can independently run errands, shop, exercise, and maintain social networks. Age-related decline of perceptual, motor, and cognitive abilities can undermine the mobility and driving safety of older drivers. Data from driving simulators, on-road tests, surveys, and crash reports describe the driving safety and mobility challenges of older adults, but these methods offer a limited view of these challenges and fail to indicate design solutions. Contextual Design—a combination of Contextual Inquiry interviews, model building, and affinity diagrams—offers a complementary approach to uncover challenges that older adult drivers’ experience. For two weeks, 39 drivers age 65 and above, had their vehicles instrumented to collect driving and video data. Applying Contextual Design to these data showed that older drivers in urban and rural settings faced different mobility challenges and adopted various strategies to mitigate risk: older drivers often involved their spouse or passenger in the driving task, avoided certain driving maneuvers such as left turns, avoided unfamiliar or poorly lit roads at night, and planned trips to avoid risky driving situations. Ridesharing and trip planning emerged as important strategies to improve the safety and mobility of older drivers. Ridesharing could serve as a potential solution to prolong mobility; however, factors such as wait time, scheduling conflicts, costs, and trust were concerns for older drivers. A paper prototype was developed to validate the driving challenges faced by older drivers, and guide the development of a customized web-based trip-planning tool. The trip-planning tool could help older drivers make safer route choices by offering routes with fewer driving challenges, therebyenhancing their driving safety, mobility, and independence.

Chevrolet Volt on-road test programs in Canada part 1: Effects of drive cycle, ambient temperature and accessory usage on energy consumption and all-electric range

Environment Canada (EC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) separately tested two 2012 Chevrolet Volts between 2013 and 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario on public roads in the summer and winter months using realistic cabin-climate control settings. More than 1300 trips were conducted over nine routes: three city, one congested, two arterial, one highway and two expressway routes. EC tests recorded cabin conditioning, traction battery and 12 V accessory power, select vehicle component temperatures, regulated emission rates and exhaust flow, and DC charge energy. Both NRCan and EC tests measured cumulative electrically driven distance (all-electric range), select CANbus signals and AC grid supply charge energy. Results from these studies were analysed to evaluate the overall performance of the Chevrolet Volt on public roads in climates representative of most of Canada (-27 °C to 37 °C) using realistic accessory settings. At 25 °C the Chevrolet Volt’s on-road all-electric EPA-method adjusted range is generally less than the U.S. EPA sticker rating (57.9 km). Cabin conditioning energy was found to be directly related to the difference between ambient and cabin temperature, except at low temperatures (< 0 °C) when the 1.4 L engine activates to assist the thermal management system. On average, heating the cabin in the winter months consumed significantly more electric energy than cooling the cabin in the summer months. Summer city and highway driving resulted in the lowest energy consumption (Wh/km), while congested and expressway driving cycles resulted in the highest. In the winter months, many differences between the drive cycles were not discernible due to the high cabin conditioning energy consumptions.

On-Road Testing of A Vehicle for Gearbox Fault Detection using Vibration Signals

Gearbox is one of the most important components in an automobile, enabling power transmission from the engine to the wheels. Gears and bearings are prone to failure. The impending case of failure can be predicted by performing vibration analysis of a gear box, usually done by acquiring data in lab conditions. Objective: This paper proposes an idea to enable fault detection in the gearbox by acquiring data under on road conditions without having to remove the gearbox, thereby simplifying the condition monitoring of a gearbox. Methodology: The experimental studies were conducted on the gearbox in a test vehicle run in real time conditions and the vibration data from the gearbox was acquired using a piezoelectric accelerometer for different conditions of gearbox. The acquired time domain data was normalized and its statistical features were extracted. The classification of the fault class was done by using decision tree (J48) algorithm. Findings: Classification efficiencies as high as 99% were obtained by using decision tree algorithm. Further, normalization of raw data was found to increase the efficiency of the classifier. This observation can be used to make decision trees more efficient. Improvements: This paper has highlighted the concept of on road testing for two fault conditions. Further research work on other fault conditions can be done.

Evaluation the course of the vehicle braking process in case of hydraulic circuit malfunction

In the paper, the results of the research were discussed, the aim of which was the evaluation of the vehicle braking performance efficiency and the course of this process with regard to the dysfunction which may occur in braking hydraulic circuit. As part of the research, on-road tests were conducted. During the research, the delay of the vehicle when braking was measured with the use of the set of sensors placed in the parallel and the perpendicular axis of the vehicle. All the tests were conducted on the same flat section of asphalt road with wet surface. Conditions of diminished tire-to-road adhesion were chosen in order to force the activity of anti-lock braking system. The research was conducted comparatively for the vehicle with acting anti-lock braking system and subsequently for the vehicle without the system. In both cases, there was a subsequent evaluation of the course of braking with efficient braking system and with the dysfunction of hydraulic circuit.

An on-road investigation into the conditions experienced by a heavy goods vehicle operating within the United Kingdom

Wind tunnels are designed to be low in turbulence to enable accurate, repeatable data measurement. This stable environment, however, does not reflect the nature of the on-road, turbulent flow. Full scale on-road testing was conducted over a period of two months within the United Kingdom using a heavy goods vehicle. Various delivery routes throughout the UK were recorded to determine the wind yaw angle and wind velocity the heavy goods vehicle was subject to.The average on-road yaw angle was recorded as −0.4° with an average magnitude |β| of 7.9°. The corresponding average wind speed (VW) was found to be 8.4ms−1. Within the wind data, four low frequencies were recorded which arose possibly due to vortex shedding from leading and overtaking vehicles, the Strouhal shedding frequencies were found to be St=0.002, 0.004, 0.006 and 0.0010.MATLAB® Simulink® was used to model the wind speed, vehicle velocity and wind direction in conjunction with wind tunnel data in order to estimate the on-road drag coefficient. The results from the simulation found an average drag coefficient of 0.770, this value was close to the expected wind averaged drag coefficient of 0.805. This value differed from prior estimates as the logged on-road vehicle speeds were close to the maximum permitted, this resulted in a reduced effect from the wind direction and hence a reduced effective yaw angle. The average drag coefficient calculated corresponded to an average effective yaw angle of 7.1°.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of On-Road Simulator and Cognitive Driving Assessment in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Many individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at an increased risk of driving impairment. There is a need for tools with sufficient validity to help clinicians assess driving ability. Provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of the primary driving assessment methods (on-road, cognitive, driving simulation assessments) in patients with MCI and AD. We investigated (1) the predictive utility of cognitive tests and domains, and (2) the areas and degree of driving impairment in patients with MCI and AD. Effect sizes were derived and analyzed in a random effects model. Thirty-two articles (including 1,293 AD patients, 92 MCI patients, 2,040 healthy older controls) met inclusion criteria. Driving outcomes included: On-road test scores, pass/fail classifications, errors; caregiver reports; real world crash involvement; and driving simulator collisions/risky behavior. Executive function (ES [95% CI]; 0.61 [0.41, 0.81]), attention (0.55 [0.33, 0.77]), visuospatial function (0.50 [0.34, 0.65]), and global cognition (0.61 [0.39, 0.83]) emerged as significant predictors of driving performance. Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B, 0.61 [0.28, 0.94]), TMT-A (0.65 [0.08, 1.21]), and Maze test (0.88 [0.60, 1.15]) emerged as the best single predictors of driving performance. Patients with very mild AD (CDR = 0.5) mild AD (CDR = 1) were more likely to fail an on-road test than healthy control drivers (CDR = 0), with failure rates of 13.6%, 33.3% and 1.6%, respectively. The driving ability of patients with MCI and AD appears to be related to degree of cognitive impairment. Across studies, there are inconsistent cognitive predictors and reported driving outcomes in MCI and AD patients. Future large-scale studies should investigate the driving performance and associated neural networks of subgroups of AD (very mild, mild, moderate) and MCI (amnestic, non-amnestic, single-domain, multiple-domain).

Analysis of an Increase in the Efficiency of a Spark Ignition Engine Through the Application of an Automotive Thermoelectric Generator

We have analyzed the increase of the overall efficiency of a spark ignition engine through energy recovery following the application of an automotive thermoelectric generator (ATEG) of our own design. The design of the generator was developed following emission investigations during vehicle driving under city traffic conditions. The measurement points were defined by actual operation conditions (engine speed and load), subsequently reproduced on an engine dynamometer. Both the vehicle used in the on-road tests and the engine dynamometer were fit with the same, downsized spark ignition engine (with high effective power-to-displacement ratio). The thermodynamic parameters of the exhaust gases (temperature and exhaust gas mass flow) were measured on the engine testbed, along with the fuel consumption and electric current generated by the thermoelectric modules. On this basis, the power of the ATEG and its impact on overall engine efficiency were determined.

Use of a driving simulator to improve on-road driving performance and cognition in persons with Parkinson's disease: A pilot study.

The use of simulators as an assessment and intervention tool for driving is an emerging field in occupational therapy. We investigated the potential usefulness of a driving simulator to improve on-road skills and cognitive functions in drivers with Parkinson's disease (PD). Fifteen participants with PD, and Hoehn and Yahr stages between 2 and 3 participated in this pre-post comparison study. Twelve of the 15 individuals (median age (Q1-Q3), 68 (63.5-72.5); 10 men) completed 10hours of training in a high-fidelity driving simulator. A practical road test as well as off-road cognitive and simulator tests were administered at pre-training and post-training. Nine participants, who passed the road test before training, passed at post-training. Furthermore, all three participants who initially failed the on-road test passed after training. Participants' performance improved significantly from pre- to post-training on two cognitive tests: (i) the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and (ii) Dot Cancellation test. This pilot study demonstrates the potential usefulness of a simulator to improve on-road driving and driving-related cognitive skills in PD. Adequately powered randomized controlled trials are needed to further expand this field of study.

Clinician Effectiveness in Assessing Fitness to Drive of Medically At‐Risk Older Adults

To model the relative contributions of driver data and clinical judgments to clinical ratings of driver capability for a state licensing authority and to compare ratings with on-road test results. Retrospective, logistic regression. Missouri Driver License Bureau. Adults aged 60 and older (N = 652; 52% male) evaluated by a physician of their choosing and a portion subsequently road tested (n = 286). Clinical data from an evidence-based physician statement (Form 1528). A three-level rating (likely capable, unclear, not capable) was collapsed into two outcomes (0 likely capable; 1 unclear, not capable) as the dependent variable. Independent variables (predictors) were age, sex, driving exposure, recent crash or police action, number of medical conditions, medication side effects, driver insight, and disease functional severity rating for driving. Three variables in the model (Nagelkerke coefficient of determination = 0.64; P < .001) were significant in the expected direction: disease functional severity for driving (odds ratio (OR = 6.65), insight (OR = 2.35), and age (OR = 1.06). Proportionately more drivers rated likely capable (73%) passed the road test than those rated unclear or not capable (62%). Judgments of disease severity, decrements in driver insight, and older age influenced clinician ratings of driving capability. Correspondence of physician ratings to on-road test outcomes was imperfect, highlighting the complexities in translation of clinical judgments to on-road performance. Both means of assessment have important and additive roles in driver licensing.

Real-world performance of battery electric buses and their life-cycle benefits with respect to energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions

Battery electric buses can reduce energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in China's transportation system. On-road testing is necessary to evaluate these benefits compared to their diesel counterparts through life-cycle assessment for both the upstream fuel production and operation stages. Three electric buses from China are operated and charged in Macao under different air-conditioning, load, and speed settings. In the minimum load scenario, the two 12-m buses achieve 138–175 kWh/100 km, and the 8-m bus achieves 79 kWh/100 km (system charging loss included). When air-conditioning and load are at their maximum values, the energy consumption increases by 21–27%; however, air-conditioning usage exerts a greater impact than passenger load. The diesel bus on-road performance increases more significantly than the electric bus performance under low speeds, higher load, and air-conditioning use, while the electric bus energy and CO2 emission benefits increase. Across a wide range of conditions, the electric bus reduces petroleum use by 85–87% compared to a diesel bus and achieves a 32–46% reduction in fossil fuel use and 19–35% in CO2 emissions from a life-cycle perspective. A cleaner power grid and an increase in system charging efficiency (if better than 60–84%) would enhance the future benefits of electric buses.

Comorbidity in Drivers with Parkinson's Disease.

To determine the effect of comorbidity on fitness-to-drive recommendations that physicians and on-road driving assessors make and to investigate the agreement in fitness-to-drive recommendations between physicians and on-road driving assessors. Retrospective. Data on comorbidities associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and fitness-to-drive recommendations were investigated. Individuals with PD who underwent an official on-road test in Belgium (N = 72). Correlations between comorbidity and fitness-to-drive recommendations were calculated. Stepwise logistic regression models were used to investigate whether comorbidity was an independent predictor of fitness-to-drive recommendations (pass/fail) that the physicians or the on-road assessors made. The percentage of agreement and the prevalence and bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) were used to investigate agreement between the physicians and the on-road assessors. Moderate correlations were found between comorbidity and fitness-to-drive recommendations that the physicians (ρ = 0.34, P = .004) and the on-road assessors (ρ = 0.30, P = .01) made. Comorbidity was the most important determinant (coefficient of determination = 0.16, P = .005) of the physicians fitness-to-drive recommendations. No significant effect of comorbidity on the on-road recommendations was found. The physicians and the on-road assessors agreed in 46 (64%) of the cases (PABAK = 0.46, P < .001). Comorbidity plays a role in physicians' recommendations of fitness to drive that may explain, in part, inconsistencies between physicians and on-road assessors' fitness-to-drive recommendations. This study indicates the need for an interdisciplinary dialogue between physicians and on-road assessors to reach a comprehensive fitness-to-drive decision.

Clustering Pavement Roughness Based On the Impacts on Vehicle Emissions and Public Health

Objective: This research intends to explore the correlation between pavement roughness and vehicle emissions, and classify the pavement roughness based on vehicle emissions and public health impacts. Method: On-road tests were conducted to measure vehicle emissions by a Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS), and collect the corresponding pavement roughness by a smartphone application. A total of 19,038 data pairs were collected during 325 km long test routes in the State of Texas. The correlation of the emissions and International Roughness Index (IRI) are analyzed and the roughness was classified into clusters by three pattern recognition algorithms. Findings: The pavement roughness could be classified into four categories based on the clustering features of emission factors. The average of Normalized Emission Factor (ANEF) started with 0.051 at a level of IRI between 0+ and 1.99 m/km (category A), then dropped to 0.032 with IRI between 1.99 and 3.21 m/km (category B), followed by a slight decline to 0.030 with IRI between 3.21 and 6 m/km (category C). When the IRI was greater than 6 m/km (category D), the ANEF increased to 0.039. Driving on the pavement categorized to C and D may induce higher invehicle noise and driving stress indicated by drivers’ higher heart rates. Conclusion: The relationship between pavement roughness and vehicle emissions is nonlinear. The even smoother (category A) and even rougher (category D) road surfaces may also induce higher vehicle emissions. The proposed categorization of pavement roughness for Texas incorporates the impacts on environment and public health. To minimize the ANEF, the roughness in categories B and C (IRI: 2-6 m/km) is optimal for pavement design. If the impacts on in-vehicle noises and drivers’ heart rates are concerned as supplemental factors, category B (IRI: 1.99-3.21 m/km) is the best. Switching a pavement from category A to B, up to 34% of vehicle emissions and fuel consumption could be achieved. This categorization can be used in the design, maintenance, and evaluation of highway pavements, as well as applied to other states and countries with further calibrations of clusters for local specific classification of roughness.

Fuel Economy of Public Utility Jeepneys Using 2% and 5% Coco-Methyl Ester (CME)-Diesel Blends — A Limited Preliminary Study

This paper presents the results of a limited preliminary on-road and vehicle laboratory tests of 2% (B2) and 5% (B5) CME-Diesel blends on local public transport where data will be used as one of the inputs, among others such as economic, logistics, and fuel quality issues, to deliberations to decide for the introduction of B5 in Philippine commercial diesel fuel. The study is conducted to determine fuel consumption of B2 vs. B5 under near actual operating conditions where it utilized public utility jeepneys from five routes in Metro Manila where travel distance, fuel consumption and load factor are monitored. Mileage is increased by 5.9% and reduction in idling smoke opacity of 12% are observed using B5. Drive cycle tests are conducted where an improvement of 4.6% in specific fuel consumption is observed for B5. The improvement in mileage for B5 is estimated to be 3.0%.

Preliminary Investigation on the Association between Depressive Symptoms and Driving Performance in Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) patients commit many errors on driving simulation tasks and cognitive dysfunction appears to be one important contributor to impaired driving in HF. Clinical modifiers of cognition may also play a key role. In particular, depression is common in HF patients, linked with cognitive dysfunction, and contributes to reduced driving fitness in non-HF samples. However, the associations among depressive symptoms, cognition, and driving in HF are unclear. Eighteen HF patients completed a validated simulated driving scenario, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and a cognitive test battery. Partial correlations controlling for demographic and medical confounds showed higher BDI-II score correlated with greater number of collisions, centerline crossings, and % time out of lane. Increased depressive symptoms correlated with lower attention/executive function, and reduced performance in this domain was associated with a greater number of collisions, centerline crossing, and % time out of lane. Depressive symptoms may be related to poorer driving performance in HF, perhaps through association with cognitive dysfunction. However, larger studies with on-road testing are needed to replicate our preliminary findings before recommendations for clinical practice can be made.

Vehicle Emission Factors of Solid Nanoparticles in the Laboratory and on the Road Using Portable Emission Measurement Systems (PEMS)

Emission inventories are used to quantify sources and identify trends in the emissions of air pollutants. They use vehicle-specific emission factors that are typically determined in the laboratory, through remote-sensing, vehicle chasing experiments and, more recently, on-board Portable Emission Measurement Systems (PEMS). Although PEMS is widely applied to measure gaseous pollutants, their application to Solid Particle Number (SPN) emissions is new. In this paper, we discuss the current status of determining SPN emission factors both on the chassis dynamometer and on-road using PEMS-SPN. First, we determine the influence of the measurement equipment, ambient temperature, driving style and cycle characteristics, and the extra mass of the PEMS equipment on the SPN emissions. Afterward, we present the SPN emissions under type-approval conditions as well as on the road of two heavy-duty diesel vehicles equipped with Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) (one Euro VI), two light-duty diesel vehicles equipped with DPF, one light-duty vehicle equipped with a Port Fuel Injection engine (PFI), and seven Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) passenger cars (two Euro 6). We find that cold-start and strong accelerations tend to substantially increase SPN emissions. The two heavy-duty vehicles showed emissions around 2×10^13 p/km (Euro V truck) and 6×10^10 p/km (Euro VI truck), respectively. One of the DPF-equipped light-duty vehicles showed emissions of 8×10^11 p/km, while the other one had one order of magnitude lower emissions. The PFI car had SPN emissions slightly higher than 1×10^12 p/km. The emissions of GDI cars spanned approximately from 8×10^11 p/km to 8×10^12 p/km. For the cars without DPF, the SPN emissions remained within a factor of two of the laboratory results. This factor was on average around 0.8 for the Euro 6 and 1.6 for the Euro 5 GDIs. The DPF equipped vehicles showed a difference of almost one order of magnitude between laboratory and on-road tests due to the different DPF fill state and passive regeneration during the tests. The findings of this study can (i) help improving the on SPN emissions and (ii) assist policy makers in designing effective test procedures for measuring SPN emissions of vehicles under real-world driving conditions.

Experimental Assessment of NOx Emissions from 73 Euro 6 Diesel Passenger Cars.

Controlling nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from diesel passenger cars during real-world driving is one of the major technical challenges facing diesel auto manufacturers. Three main technologies are available for this purpose: exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), lean-burn NOx traps (LNT), and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Seventy-three Euro 6 diesel passenger cars (8 EGR only, 40 LNT, and 25 SCR) were tested on a chassis dynamometer over both the European type-approval cycle (NEDC, cold engine start) and the more realistic Worldwide harmonized light-duty test cycle (WLTC version 2.0, hot start) between 2012 and 2015. Most vehicles met the legislative limit of 0.08 g/km of NOx over NEDC (average emission factors by technology: EGR-only 0.07 g/km, LNT 0.04 g/km, and SCR 0.05 g/km), but the average emission factors rose dramatically over WLTC (EGR-only 0.17 g/km, LNT 0.21 g/km, and SCR 0.13 g/km). Five LNT-equipped vehicles exhibited very poor performance over the WLTC, emitting 7-15 times the regulated limit. These results illustrate how diesel NOx emissions are not properly controlled under the current, NEDC-based homologation framework. The upcoming real-driving emissions (RDE) regulation, which mandates an additional on-road emissions test for EU type approvals, could be a step in the right direction to address this problem.

The influence of memory on driving behavior: How route familiarity is related to speed choice. An on-road study

Differences in driving behavior due to the presence of users familiar (or unfamiliar) with the road are considered in the road and traffic engineering. However, although considered, the matter is largely unexplored: there is a lack of theoretical foundations and data on determining the impact of route familiarity on accident rates, speed choice and risk perception. On the other hand, some literature studies confirm that route familiarity is influential on driving behavior, encouraging research in this sense.This paper reports the results of an on-road test carried out on a two lane rural road in the District of Bari in the Puglia Region (Italy) over six days of testing by following this time schedule: first four tests in four consecutive days, the fifth test in the ninth day after the first test and the sixth test in the twenty-sixth day after the first test. The main aim of the experiment was to find relationships between route familiarity and speed choice. In particular, speed data were analyzed by considering the influence of road geometry and human factors.The main finding is that speed choice seems to be affected by route familiarity: speed increases with the repetition of travels on the same route. The particular schedule used for the tests allows to consider the influence of memory on the speed behavior of the test drivers. Moreover, some relationships between changes in speed over days, road geometry and drivers’ attitudes were shown.

Traffic medicine in the Netherlands

In a general sense Traffic Medicine in the Netherlands concerns multidisciplinary research about how to reduce traffic crashes and injuries following a “systems approach”. Several universities and research institutes are involved, including the SWOV research institute of traffic safety( 1). In a specific sense Traffic Medicine in the Netherlands concerns researching and applying regulations and methods for assessing and improving fitness to drive in persons with impairments in physical and mental functions which are relevant for driving. Important recent developments in the general and specific field are discussed. Because the Netherlands is a flat country with a moderate climate and generally small distances between destinations, bicycling is a very important mode of transport also for older persons. In general traffic safety has improved tremendously over the last years but much less so for older (65+) cyclists. This is particularly problematic because the older population is increasing and with the arrival of the e-bike, cycling is increasingly popular. Several approaches to improve bicycle safety have been proposed. The Netherlands is part of the European Union (EU) and medical aspects of driver licensing are based on Directives (2) of the European Parliament and Council. The European directive is not very detailed with regard to medical fitness to drive and individual countries can have more specific regulations. For example with regard to neurological disorders and dementia the EU directive states that: “driving licenses shall not be issued to, or renewed for, applicants or drivers suffering from a serious neurological disease or severe behavioural problems due to ageing, unless the application is supported by authorized medical opinion, and if necessary, subject to regular medical check-ups”. It will be discussed how, based on medical consensus and multidisciplinary research, this requirement has been implemented in the Netherlands. In empirical research persons with moderately severe visual (visual acuity &lt; 0.5; homonymous hemianopia) and cognitive impairments (traumatic brain injury; stroke) have been systematically observed when actually driving. On average, driving was poorer in patients than in healthy subjects but many subjects in the patient groups drove safely and fluently and performance was not predicted sufficiently from medical and psychological characteristics (3,4). They appeared to compensate effectively, sometimes also helped by technology, for example the bi-optic telescope, and by visual training and special driving lessons. This has led to changes in regulations such that in the case of moderately severe visual and cognitive impairments on-road tests of “practical fitness to drive” have become important additions to the conventional medical and psychological assessments. Developments in intelligent driver support and autonomous vehicles promise further opportunities for compensating driver impairment but unwanted behavioural changes (adaptation) must be avoided (5).

Comparison of A Prototype PEM Fuel Cell Powertrain Power Demand and Hydrogen Consumption Based on Inertia Dynamometer and On-Road Tests

Fuel cell vehicles (FCV) are being seriously viewed as a clean alternative for transportation as it uses hydrogen and emit zero harmful tailpipe emissions. Due to this greater interest, research on FCV at many levels is being performed in all parts of the world. A generic prototype FCV was developed locally as part of a continuous work on understanding the underlying mechanism and optimization of the FCV power train. The 104kg FCV is driven by a 1.2kW PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell and 360W rated power of Brushed DC Maxon motor. This paper reports the simulation, experimental and validation tests of the prototype FCV using a custom made inertia dynamometer test bench. This test bench is equipped with data logger that is able to log voltage, current, speed and time. The test bench was designed to simulate actual of vehicle performance parameters such as energy flow, acceleration resistance, rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. The overall power consumption and energy consumption of the FCV was analyzed as a final outcome.