United States Department of Transportation
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Field Operational Test of the Freightliner/Meritor WABCO Roll Stability Advisor and Control at Praxair
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2003-08-01
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[PDF-10.83 MB]
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Alternative Title:Freightliner Trucks Field Operational Test: The Freightliner/Meritor WABCO Roll Stability Advisor and Control at Praxair: Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4
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Edition:Final report
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Abstract:This document reports on the conduct and findings of a naturalistic field operational test (FOT) of the Freightliner/Meritor WABCO Roll Stability Advisor and Control (RA&C). The broad intent of RA&C is to reduce the risk of rollover by improving driver performance through in-cab advisory messages and, when deemed necessary, by slowing the vehicle through direct control of the engine throttle and retarder. The primary goal of the FOT was to evaluate the effectiveness of the system, especially as it relates to modifying driver performance in turns to reduce the risk of rollover. The test fleet consisted of six tractor semi-trailer combinations hauling liquid nitrogen in the Great Lakes region. The test ran from November of 2000 through November 2001. Some 10,000 hours and 772,000 km of driving were monitored resulting in 25 giga-bytes of data from the vehicles. Twenty-three drivers participated; fourteen remained in the study through its entirety and became the subjects of the statistical analysis. The drivers operated without RA&C during the first half of the study and with RA&C during the second half. Evaluations of the influence of RA&C were done for each driver and then pooled. The primary means of evaluation was a multifactor analysis that accounted for other influential factors such as weather, lighting (day/night), loading condition, and turn direction and severity. These factors were all found to have a main effect on turning performance. Results on the influence of RA&C were mixed. No main effect of the presence of RA&C was found, but an encouraging pattern of statistically-significant interactive influences was observed that suggests lower risk of rollover with RA&C. Also, individual advisories were found to have a relatively-short term, but statistically significant influence on performance reducing risk of rollover. The range of performance between individual drivers was found to be larger than the influence of any other factor examined. The report describes the RA&C system tested, the experimental design, the instrumentation and data acquisition system, and the structure and content of the resulting database. The analyses of the data are presented in the form of descriptions of the exposure of the fleet, the overall lateral behavior of the fleet and of individual rivers, the performance of RA&C, and the evaluation of RA&C and other factors on turning performance. Findings are reviewed and recommendations given.
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Content Notes:This single PDF contains volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4, as well as other material. The separate volumes are included in the Supporting Files.
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