A test for lateral vehicle safety related to road design

The design criteria utilised by civil engineers are not adequate to account for the complex behaviour of the tyres of a driven vehicle. Surveying and maintenance of the vehicles and road network are essential in order to minimise car accidents. Moreover, the number of accidents that occur on curved roads increases the necessity to check the lateral force applied to the tyres in order to take the curves safely. The novelty of this paper is based on the establishment of a relation between the road design criteria of lateral friction according to civil engineers and the tyre behaviour when taking a curve, according to the tests and models of automotive engineers. Thus, it proposes a new and more effective method to check the wheel alignment during the periodic motor vehicle inspections, based on force measurement with a force plate.