Road Safety Performance Indicators: Theory. Deliverable D3.6 of the EU FP6 project SafetyNet.

This document provides details about the theory behind the development of Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) in seven major areas which are central to the fields of activity in road safety in Europe. The fields of activity were selected as a result of reviews of national road safety plans in many of the EU countries and around the world and are considered the central themes of activity in road safety, necessary to bring about a significant improvement in road safety in the EU countries. Within each field SPIs were developed which are directly related to that field of activity, can be quantitatively measured, can provide the basis for the assessment of the level of road safety in each country and can serve as an indicator to describe the level of activity in that field and country and can provide a yardstick for comparison. Comparisons can be before and after certain actions are taken or can be comparisons between countries. As stated above, this document deals with the theory behind the development of each of the seven SPIs. It provides the rationale behind their development, the proofs for their relevance in the specific fields and the existing limitations that led to the adoption of the specific SPIs. The document provides also some recommendations for the possible improvements required to obtain better SPIs. Two companion documents are also being prepared. One is a manual which provides details on the procedures necessary to collects the required data for the development of each SPI in each country. The second document provides results on the data collected so far for each of the 25 EU countries and the SPIs developed so far, based on the data submitted by each of the countries. It can be seen that a lot of work still has to be done, both in collecting the necessary data and in improving the SPIs, once better and more detailed data becomes available

TheUse of FTIR spectrometry in tribotechnical diagnostic of motor oils for the means of transport on roads

Práce se zabývá využitím metody infračervené spektrometrie s Fourierovou transformací při analýze nových motorových a převodových olejů, plastických maziv a opotřebených motorových olejů. Důležitou částí této práce je kapitola Vybrané metody tribotechniské diagnostiky, ve které je podrobně popsána metoda FTIR a doplňková metoda experimentální práce - ferrografie. Náplní experimentální části jsou analýzy nových i opotřebených olejů metodou FTIR. Vybrané vzorky opotřebených olejů byly podrobeny ferrografické analýze. Součástí je databáze nových olejů a pohonných hmot včetně výkonových a viskozitních klasifikací a doporučení použití jednotlivých olejů a plastických maziv stanovená výrobcem.Dokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobo

What influences lateral position in horizontal curves?

Three road marking types — edgelines, a centreline, and no marking — are used on rural Czech roads, even though their impact on the lateral position of a vehicle in real-life driving behaviour is not completely understood. This study strives to fill this gap for horizontal curves. It considers the road marking type and other factors in a sample of 68 curves. The modelling results confirm that, in addition to driving speed, road width, and other factors, the road marking type has an impact on the lateral position. Based on an analysis of road axis exceedance, the centreline proved better for curve negotiation because it led to trajectories farther from the road axis, lowering the probability of a head-on crash. Thus, the centreline marking proved to be the better alternative in terms of lateral position, as well as in the practical perspective. This finding provides guidance for road administrators towards increasing the consistency of road marking

Novel Approach in Vehicle Front-End Modeling for Numerical Analyses of Pedestrian Impact Scenarios

V článku je prezentován vývoj zjednodušeného modelu přední části vozidla. Jeho povrch je segmentován do podoby MBS modelu se stovkami tuhých těles propojených translačními vazbami k základnímu tělesu. S pomocí modelu je simulována reálná dopravní nehoda. Chodec je reprezentován vyškálovaným modelem VIRTHUMAN. Predikované poranění chodce koreluje s daty z reálné nehody. Vyvinutý model vozidla je následně porovnán s konečnoprvkovým modelem. Výsledky naznačují vliv globální deformace kapoty na poranění chodce.In this paper a novel approach in developing a simplified model of a vehicle front-end is presented. Its surface is segmented to form an MBS model with hundreds of rigid bodies connected via translational joints to a base body. Local stiffness of each joint is calibrated using a headform or a legform impactor corresponding to the EuroNCAP mapping. Hence, the distribution of stiffness of the front-end is taken into account. The model of the front-end is embedded in a whole model of a small car in a simulation of a real accident. The VIRTHUMAN model is scaled in height, weight and age to represent precisely the pedestrian involved. Injury risk predicted by simulation is in correlation with data from real accident. Namely, injuries of head, chest and lower extremities are confirmed. Finally, mechanical response of developed vehicle model is compared to an FE model of the same vehicle in a pedestrian impact scenario. VIRTHUMAN model of a 13-year-old boy (150 cm, 40 kg) is chosen to represent the pedestrian and the lateral impact at 45 km/h is considered for various initial positions of pedestrian. While local deformation of the MBS bonnet leads to the HIC value corresponding to the EuroNCAP assessment, prediction obtained in the case of FE model may differ. This reflects the fact that deformation of the bonnet caused by an impact of the torso may influence the shape and the stiffness of the bonnet at the location of head strik