Study of heavy truck accidents with focus on manoeuvres causing loss of control

Abstract

An analysis of heavy truck accidents based on the Large Truck Crash Causation Study database with respect to loss of control is presented. Heavy truck accidents were analysed with regard to the accident type, loss of control type, critical manoeuvre, vehicle combination type and different road characteristics. Three critical manoeuvres were identified as the most common manoeuvres causing loss of control. Based on the accident analysis results, relevant existing test manoeuvres were adapted for trucks and compared to determine a suitable test for evaluation of yaw stability of heavy trucks on a dry and level road. The comparison was conducted on a 5DOF tractor-trailer model in Matlab-Simulink.