Road Vehicle Accidents Research Articles

Research on the study of frontal collision between a vehicle and a fixed rigid barrier

The paper presents a part of the research conducted in order to establish a methodology for studying the frontal collision for a particular case. Thus, an experimental test methodology was developed considering a frontal collision between a vehicle and a fixed, rigid barrier. Two anthropometric testing devices (ATDs) were placed in the vehicle (one in the driver seat and the other one in the back seat), in order to evaluate the kinematic and dynamic parameters that characterize the occupants’ behaviour in such collision. Based on the vehicle's final position after the collision, a computational simulation was performed using the PC-Crash software program. The obtained results were then compared with the data provided by the video recording of the experimental testing, in order to validate the computational simulation as a method for reconstructing road vehicle accidents

Numerical simulation of the stress-strain state of snow and ice layer on the road when it is destroyed under the influence of the proposed device

In the winter season, we can observe the increased number of personal injuries and road vehicle accidents because of ice coating on paved roads. Surface refining from icing field involves two process operations: breaking it up and transporting the resulting segments. The basic process prevailing in cleaning effective output is the cutting process, i.e. the separation of icy fragments from the pavement with the cutting tools of special machines. The purpose of the research is to simulate the ice crust breaking influenced by the device designed by the authors. The modeling of ice flow failure is rather complicated and not a trivial task. An advanced Lagrangian model is applied in a modern software system. As a result, based on a computing model implemented in ANSYS software system, we have developed an algorithm for determining a mode of the ice crust deformation caused by the circular cutters put into it. The review of the stress strain behavior of ice crust shows that the biggest movement of ice crust fractions arises along the outline (perimeter) of discs and at the surface of the cover. The greatest equivalent stresses are observed along the disc outline (perimeter). The middle part of the disc (approaching to the centre) is nearly involved in equipment operation. The greatest displacement of icy particles is along the disc contour, while they are near zero along the edges. In the paper, we also determined recoverable and shearing deformations, regular and shear stresses in the ice crust at different thickness and movement speed of the device. The calculated motion rate and ice coating thickness at which the destructive effect is most distinctive, has been found out.

Management Approach for Traumatic Complex Degloving Perineal Injuries: A Retrospective Review of 6 Cases.

Degloving perineal injury is defined as avulsion of the perineal skin and subcutaneous tissue from its surrounding fascia, bone, and organs. This injury is most commonly caused by road vehicle accidents or alleged falls from heights. This devastating injury is associated with high morbidity and mortality if mismanaged. We retrospectively evaluated our management protocol for degloving perineal injury and the clinical outcomes of our case series. Six cases of open perineal degloving injuries were managed and retrospectively reviewed at our center from 2018 to 2020, comprising 2 cases of isolated degloving wounds of the scrotum and 4 cases of complex perineal injuries associated with pelvic fracture, anorectal injuries, or complete transacted urethral injuries. Two of the 6 patients had open-book pelvic fractures that required pelvic stabilization. Complex degloving perineal injuries can be managed through (1) resuscitation and pelvic packing; (2) urgent life-threatening treatments; (3) pelvic exploration with debridement; and (4) primary repair of anorectal or transacted urethral injuries with external pelvic fixation. All patients promptly underwent surgical repair after immediate diagnosis and resuscitation. Additionally, patients were operated by specialized teams according to the proposed management approach as shown in Figure 1. All patients recovered well and had good functional outcomes. A multidisciplinary team comprising general surgeons, urologists, orthopedic surgeons, and plastic surgeons was involved in this review. Prompt diagnosis and immediate surgical intervention remain the standard requirements for complex degloving perineal injuries. We proposed a management protocol that is safe for managing complex perineal injuries.

Effectiveness of Muscle Energy Technique versus Positional Release Therapy on Range of Motion and Pain in Non-Specific Low Back Pain

Low back ache is the largest cause of sick leave, and half of the population will have experienced a significant incident of low back ache by the age of 30. In India, low back ache prevalence has been reported to be around 23.09%. Severe pain in the lower back is sequel of numerous causes, such as faulty posture, muscular dysfunction (e.g.: muscular imbalance and short or weak muscle), overuse, instability and articular dysfunction in the low back, accident or trauma and most commonly road vehicle accidents. In 85%–90% of cases of lower back ache are non-specific in nature. The function and co-ordination of the muscles that stabilise the lumbar spine, especially the back extensor muscles are often impaired in patients with low back pain. Erector spinae strain and fatigue is one of the causes of back pain. A total of 30 subjects with acute low back pain participated in this study. Group A were treated with hot moist pack and muscle energy technique (MET), whereas Group B were treated with hot moist pack and positional release therapy (PRT). Both the groups received a conventional training protocol for 3 days a week for 4 weeks. The result from these tables shows changes in both the groups, with statistically significant changes were noticed in Group B. The present study showed that both PRT and MET within hot moist packs could be of benefit in the treatment of acute low back pain associated erector spinae muscle spasm. There was significant difference in the intensity of pain within the groups and between the groups after 4 weeks of treatment. Reduction in pain intensity was significant in the PRT group. Pain relief was achieved with both Group A and Group B, but was appreciably more significant in the PRT group. There is a significant difference between both Groups A and B. Hence, PRT is more effective than MET.

Energy-based linear PCM audio recovery method of impaired MP4 file stored in dashboard camera memory

Sounds recorded by a dashboard camera presents essential evidence on a vehicle's driving condition for analyzing car accidents. In reality, when a direct impact of a vehicle equipped with a dashboard camera occurs, the power supply to the dashboard camera is abruptly terminated, and the digital video being recorded at that time may be incompletely stored; thus, there is no information such as the location or size to be read for the image and audio decoding. In this paper, we propose a method for recovering the linear pulse code modulation (PCM) audio from the impaired MP4 file partially stored in a video event data recorder (VEDR), known as a dashboard camera, during road vehicle accidents. This method is based on the principle of extracting an actual audio signal using the energy of each frame in the pseudo audio, which is generated from all data in the “mdat” area of the impaired MP4 file. For performance evaluation, the various video files with linear PCM audio format in the MP4 container were obtained through the different dashboard cameras. As the objective evaluation, we measured the audio recovery ratio, distance based on dynamic time warping (DTW) and comparison of the waveform and spectrogram. Moreover, the performance of the proposed method was evaluated using the multiple stimuli with a hidden reference and anchor (MUSHRA) test as the subjective assessment. As a result, it is shown from the evaluation that the proposed method can recover significantly better the linear PCM audio signal than the conventional methods from an impaired MP4 file.

Survey and Synthesis of State of the Art in Driver Monitoring.

Road vehicle accidents are mostly due to human errors, and many such accidents could be avoided by continuously monitoring the driver. Driver monitoring (DM) is a topic of growing interest in the automotive industry, and it will remain relevant for all vehicles that are not fully autonomous, and thus for decades for the average vehicle owner. The present paper focuses on the first step of DM, which consists of characterizing the state of the driver. Since DM will be increasingly linked to driving automation (DA), this paper presents a clear view of the role of DM at each of the six SAE levels of DA. This paper surveys the state of the art of DM, and then synthesizes it, providing a unique, structured, polychotomous view of the many characterization techniques of DM. Informed by the survey, the paper characterizes the driver state along the five main dimensions—called here “(sub)states”—of drowsiness, mental workload, distraction, emotions, and under the influence. The polychotomous view of DM is presented through a pair of interlocked tables that relate these states to their indicators (e.g., the eye-blink rate) and the sensors that can access each of these indicators (e.g., a camera). The tables factor in not only the effects linked directly to the driver, but also those linked to the (driven) vehicle and the (driving) environment. They show, at a glance, to concerned researchers, equipment providers, and vehicle manufacturers (1) most of the options they have to implement various forms of advanced DM systems, and (2) fruitful areas for further research and innovation.

Quantifying accident risk and severity due to speed from the reaction point to the critical conflict in fatal motorcycle accidents

In fatal road vehicle accidents motorcycles are overrepresented per vehicle kilometre travelled. Fatal accidents involving motorcycles contain mode specific characteristics, and in common with fatal accidents involving all road users, speed typically presents as a significant contributory factor. The aim of the present study is to provide quantitative estimates for the contribution of speed in situations commencing from the reaction location to the safety critical event involving a motorcyclist and resulting in a fatal accident. The contribution of speed to the resulting accident risk and accident severity is considered from this reaction point. A speed-squared versus stopping distance domain, termed the severity-risk space, is examined to determine the accident measures. The defined accident measures, namely, accident risk, accident severity and accident severity risk are calculated for sixteen fatal accidents from a police dataset of recent UK motorcycle accidents. The estimates of the defined measures are provided in terms relative to values estimated for the vehicle travelling at the speed limit at the safety critical event. The relative accident risk in response to a safety critical situation shows a partial speed dependent reaction phase and a speed-squared dependent braking phase and ranges from 1.3 to 2.8. The speed-squared dependent accident severity measure ranges from 1.4 to 7.3 at pre-impact speeds. The relative accident severity risk shows speed squared to speed cubed dependency components during the reaction phase and a speed to the power of four dependent braking phase and ranges from 2.3 to 22.8. In eight cases the collision would have been avoided had the motorcyclist been travelling at the speed limit at the critical point and in the other eight cases the relative accident severity at impact ranged from 1.4 to 17.2. The speed-squared versus stopping distance domain provides an informative parameter space for considering the accident risk and accident severity dimensions of road user accidents.

Modelling aspects and risk analysis for road vehicles under non-stationary wind excitation

Strong crosswinds have a great influence on the stability of road vehicles. At exposed locations (e.g. embankments, long bridges), the topographical features may magnify the wind effects and thus cause accidents. In order to evaluate the accident risk of road vehicles in a more realistic way, the model for the wind-vehicle system has to take the non-stationary characteristics of natural wind into account and specific vehicle models for different vehicle types have to be developed. This paper details the mathematical model and physical scenario of road vehicles running under strong crosswinds. Possible road vehicle accidents due to excessive sideslip, yaw rotation and overturning are taken into account. In order to quantify the accident risk under strong crosswind, failure probabilities for different types of road vehicles are computed and analysed.

Prevention of vehicle rollover after wheel lift-off using energy-based controller with proportional gain augmentation

Vehicle rollovers are the most fatal type of vehicle crashes among all road vehicle accidents. Off-road vehicles with a high centre of gravity are highly susceptible to rollovers, which can be either tripped or untripped, caused by external impacts or during high-speed manoeuvres, respectively. Currently, rollover prediction systems are used to indicate any potential wheel lift-off in real time. Subsequently, rollover prevention systems mitigate the impending wheel lift-off. In a severe near-rollover wheel lift-off scenario, the existing anti-rollover control systems are not effective in reinstating the vehicle to safety, as the designed range of operation is limited only to the near-wheel lift-off region. Even after the wheel lift-off occurs, the vehicle can be brought safely back to the ground with the timely intervention of the anti-rollover controller. This study proposes a novel energy-based anti-rollover controller with proportional gain augmentation using steering wheel input to reinstate a vehicle from a high-speed on-road near-rollover scenario with wheels on one side in the lifted-off condition. Use of an energy-based controller facilitates the least complicated implementation with minimum computation time for a severe scenario where the response time available is very small. A nonlinear underactuated inverted double pendulum on a cart model is used for predicting the dynamics of the vehicle in a near-rollover scenario. The design of the energy-based controller is done using the Lyapunov-based controller design method. An enhancement in the performance is obtained with the incorporation of an additional proportional gain controller. The behaviour of the designed anti-rollover controller is studied using the inverted double pendulum on a cart model. The effectiveness of the anti-rollover controller in a real-life scenario was studied using the co-simulation of a sophisticated four-wheeled pick-up model available in TruckSim® vehicle dynamic simulation software and the anti-rollover control system implemented in MATLAB®/Simulink® environment.

Incorporating car owner preferences for the introduction of economic incentives for speed limit enforcement

Human error including driving misbehavior contributes to over 90 percent of road vehicle accidents, and speeding is considered to be risky. Smart technologies, such as Connected Vehicle System (CVS) are among the interesting technical options to improve driving behavior, and Pay-As-You-Speed (PAYS) is an effective economic incentive to reduce speed violations. We investigated the acceptability of CVS with and without the presence of economic incentives, such as PAYS, in the context of a middle-income country: Iran. We used a Zero-Inflated Ordered Probit model (ZIOP) to estimate drivers’ willingness to pay for a CVS, and a hazard-based model for predicting the incentive level needed for accepting CVS via a PAYS scheme. ZIOP model indicated that drivers with the following characteristics were more likely to pay more for CVS: having a comprehensive insurance coverage, being younger than 60 years, owning more than one car, and having older vehicles. The hazard-based model also confirmed that drivers that speed relatively often have a lower tendency to adopt CVS, and drivers who experienced an accident in the past were more inclined to adopt CVS via PAYS. Also, drivers' opinion about CVS, vehicle characteristics, demographics, and driving experience influenced the effect of PAYS characteristics on acceptability of CVS. Finally, we offer recommendations for how to effectively implement CVS, in order to significantly reduce the high fatality and accident rates in middle-income countries such as Iran.

Crashworthiness analysis of polymer composites under axial and oblique impact loading

A study was made to evaluate the design variables that affect the crashworthiness parameters of an energy absorber while dissipating the crash forces during road vehicle accidents. In order to find out causes, nonlinear crushing analysis is performed with the finite element code of ABAQUS/Explicit software. An investigation was conducted on homogeneous and heterogeneous ply orientation modeled structure of composite materials under axial and oblique impact loadings to find out the suitable model or structure for lightweight vehicle applications according to the crashworthiness. Crashworthiness parameters such as peak force and deformation length were considered, to investigate acomposite tube under axial and oblique loading conditions with materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP). Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) approach is used to observe the changes and investigation on the dynamic response of composite material under sudden crashes in a different arrangement. A progressive damage model is adapted to determine the status of damage of elements in each failure with references to predefined energy absorption value. Hashin damage criteria are used, to estimate the reduction of stiffness of the material while crack initiation and its propagation during impacts. Different tube arrangement of fiber orientations (0°, ±45°, 90°) of ply and axial and oblique types of impact loading were mostly affecting results a lot in a crushing analysis. Non homogenous composite tube showed the better crashworthiness parameters than the homogenous structure. In oblique loading analysis, in both cases (CFRP and GFRP), the peak force and the deformation values decrease with increases in oblique angle due to the change of fiber properties, inclination as well as the contact area between the tube and impactor.

A pre/post evaluation of fatigue, stress and vigilance amongst commercially licensed truck drivers performing a prolonged driving task

Purpose. The main purpose of this research study was to evaluate changes in fatigue, stress and vigilance amongst commercially licensed truck drivers involved in a prolonged driving task. The secondary purpose was to determine whether a new ergonomic seat could help reduce both physical and cognitive fatigue during a prolonged driving task. Two different truck seats were evaluated: an industrial standard seat and a new truck seat prototype. Methods. Twenty male truck drivers were recruited to attend two testing sessions, on two separate days, with each session randomized for seat design. During each session, participants performed two 10-min simulated driving tasks. Between simulated sessions, participants drove a long-haul truck for 90 min. Fatigue and stress were quantified using a series of questionnaires whereas vigilance was measured using a standardized computer test. Results. Seat interactions had a significant effect on fatigue patterns. Conclusion. The new ergonomic seat design holds potential in improving road safety and vehicle accidents due to fatigue-related accidents.

Implementing road safety measures in conditions limited by budget

Abstract Adopted in 2018 was the Strategy of Traffic Safety for 2018 – 2024 years which stipulates the social risk index making not more than 4 fatalities per 100.000 people, as well as the craving for zero fatality in road vehicle accidents by 2030, as a benchmark in 2024. A level of the tasks at hand requires significant increase in efficiency of traffic safety management which is possible by application of the expert system for traffic safety assurance. Given in the present article is an evaluation method of activities implementation investment attractiveness which allows determining the importance of some or other activity depending on the selected production rules in a limited budget. The fuzzy-set theory (Kofman, 1982), the expert evaluation method, the expert system functioning principles form the basis of this method. In order to illustrate this method the activities on enhancement of pedestrian traffic safety are selected. Considered as an example are two variants of production rules which make it possible to evaluate the selective potentials of the method. The proposed method can be used not only as an instrument of the expert system for traffic safety, but also independently. The use of this method allows most effectively spend budget funds allocated for enhancement of traffic safety.

Reliability-Based Vehicle Safety Assessment and Design Optimization of Roadway Radius and Speed Limit in Windy Environments

This paper presents a reliability-based analysis of road vehicle accidents and the optimization of roadway radius and speed limit design based on vehicle dynamics, mainly focusing on windy environments. The performance functions are formulated as failure modes of vehicle rollover and sideslip and are defined on a finite set of basic variables with probabilistic characteristics, so-called random variables. The random variables are vehicle speed, steer angle, tire–road friction coefficient, road bank angle, and wind speed. The probability of accident was evaluated using the first-order reliability method (FORM) and numerical studies were conducted using a single-unit truck model. The analysis demonstrates that wind is a significant factor when assessing vehicle safety on roads, and probabilistic studies such as reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) are necessarily required to enhance vehicle safety in windy environments. Accordingly, design optimization of roadway radius and speed limit was conducted, and new designs were proposed satisfying the target reliability. This study suggests that probabilistic mechanics and theory can be of value for analysis and design of wind-related vehicle safety.

Design of neural network-based control systems for active steering system

Nowadays, safety of road vehicles is an important issue due to the increasing road vehicle accidents. Passive safety system of the passenger vehicle is to minimize the damage to the driver and passenger of a road vehicle during an accident. Whereas an active steering system is to improve the response of the vehicle to the driver inputs even in adverse situations and thus avoid accidents. This paper presents a neural network-based robust control system design for the active steering system. Primarily, double-pinion steering system used modeling of the active steering system. Then four control structures are used to control prescribed random trajectories of the active steering system. These control structures are as classical PID Controller, Model-Based Neural Network Controller, Neural Network Predictive Controller and Robust Neural Network Predictive Control System. The results of the simulation showed that the proposed neural network-based robust control system had superior performance in adapting to large random disturbances.

Relationship of seat belt use to health and driver behaviors

Seat belts are effective safety devices for protecting car occupants from injuries and fatalities in road vehicle accidents. Seat belt use has been reported to be related to some health and driving-related behaviors. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what degree seat belt use can be seen as health behavior or driver behavior. Participants were 252 licensed Turkish drivers (180 males, 72 females) with the mean age of 30.8 (SD = 12.15). A questionnaire including questions related to health-related behaviors, driver behaviors and seat belt use was used. Results of factor analysis showed that seat belt use in front seat grouped with driver behaviors (e.g., driving errors and violations) but not with health-related behaviors (e.g., healthy diet and sports participation). Regression analyses showed that seat belt use in back seat; and, regular walking and adequate sleep were positively related to seat belt use in front seat, whereas being male, driving errors and smoking frequency were negatively related to seat belt use in front seat. The present findings suggest that seat belt use can be considered in the context of driver behaviors such as driving errors and violations.

A driver-distraction-based lane-keeping assistance system

Single-vehicle roadway departure (SVRD) accidents occur in many cases owing to driver distraction or drowsiness constituting a substantial share of today's road vehicle accidents and casualties. This paper describes a distraction-based lane-keeping support system, which intervenes only when the driver is positively detected as being distracted. Distraction here is understood as cognitive and visual distraction, and the focus of this system is on the latter one. In order to estimate the driver's visual distraction level, a video-based driver monitoring system is used. Lane-keeping support is provided by an additional torque applied on the steering shaft in order to regain an appropriate lane position. In this manner the system only intervenes when the vehicle has drifted out of its lane and while the driver is distracted. Test track investigations indicate large opportunities for such a system from a driver perspective, provided that sufficient reliability of the employed vision sensor for lane and face tracking can be obtained.

Safety Analysis of Moving Road Vehicles on a Long Bridge under Crosswind

This paper presents a safety analysis of high-sided road vehicles running on a long span cable-stayed bridge when the road vehicle enters a sharp-edged crosswind gust while the bridge is oscillating under fluctuating winds. Road vehicle accidents, including overturning, excessive sideslip, and exaggerated rotation, are defined first. The mathematical model and the equation of motion of coupled road vehicle–bridge systems under crosswind are then established, which include road surface roughness, vehicle suspension, and the sideslip of the vehicle tire relative to the bridge deck in the lateral direction. A case study using a real long cable-stayed bridge and a high-sided road vehicle is finally conducted, and an extensive computational work is performed to obtain a series of accident vehicle speed against mean crosswind speed, by which the decision on the threshold of mean wind speed above which the bridge should be closed to the road vehicle can be made. The obtained accident vehicle speeds are also compared with those for the same vehicles running on the ground. It is shown that the oscillation of the cable-stayed bridge will lower the accident vehicle speed when wind speed reaches a certain level.

Limitations of risk analysis in the determination of medical factors in road vehicle accidents

The purpose of risk analysis in the determination of medical factors in road vehicle accidents is to evaluate the risks that are associated with different strategies for accident reduction, so that the subsequent decision making process can be based on a best assessment of the likely benefits. However, it is vital to appreciate the limitations of such an approach, especially where the conclusions depend heavily on the accuracy of the assumptions made. In this paper the assumptions used in some recent analyses concerned with incapacitation, epilepsy, hypoglycaemia and psycho-active medication are explored, and the additional information required to reduce the uncertainty in the estimation of risk indicated. The conclusions from this analysis do not invalidate the use of risk assessment, but draw attention to its limitations and show how a sensitivity analysis can help to identify those areas where more precise information is needed before such an approach can be used confidently in a policy setting.

Probabilistic assessment of wind related accidents of road vehicles: A reliability approach

A general probabilistic model for assessment of road vehicle accidents in windy environments is presented. The limit states of safe performance are outlined and the accident point is defined in the space of basic variables. The probability of accident is evaluated using a so-called safety index approach. The theory outlined is used to analyse a particular bus accident by setting up scenarios based on available information. The methodology presented has several potential applications, such as in accident analysis, and in improving the design of roads and highways by pointing out potential accident spots as well as in devising preventive measures to improve traffic safety in windy environments.