PURPOSES : The turning movement of vehicles is directly affected by such factors as vehicle length, wheelbase, steering angle, articulated angle, and wheel steering. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the impact of changes in each factor on the turning of the vehicle. Because a vehicle with a long body, such as an articulated bus, makes a wide turn, this study analyzes the swept path of the driving vehicle considering the specifications of the vehicle. METHODS : This study was conducted by dividing driving routes into four routes of two-lane four-way roundabouts, and the turning conditions were examined for six types (Type 1–6) that simulated actual articulated bus data. The same vehicle specifications as those of the actual articulated bus were applied to the road design simulation (AutoTURN Pro), and the width of the swept path for the articulated bus was investigated based on the wheel steering control. Using a virtual reference line for dividing the inscribed circle into lanes of the roundabout by 5°, the driving width of the swept path was measured and the angle at which the driving width was largest during driving through the turning intersection was examined. In addition, the changes in the driving width of the swept path according to the wheel steering control under the same wheel turning conditions, as well as the articulated and steering angles, were investigated. RESULTS : The driving width of the swept path for the vehicle (Type 1) with the front wheel control function being an all-wheel system was less than that of an articulated bus with the largest driving width of 15° after entering the roundabout and 15° before entering the roundabout (Type 2). Furthermore, although the specifications of the vehicles were the same, it was determined that Type 5 was superior to Type 6 after reviewing the driving width in light of changes in the steering and articulated angles. CONCLUSIONS : The results of this study are expected to contribute to the field of road design considering traffic safety when large vehicles, such as articulated buses, turn on roundabouts or curved road sections.

PURPOSES : The "Super-Bus Rapid Transit" (S-BRT) standard guidelines recommend installing physical facilities to separate bus lanes, so as to remove possible conflicts with other traffic when using an existing road as an S-BRT route. Based on a collision simulation, we reviewed the protective performance and installation method of a low-profile barrier, i.e., one that does not occupy much of the width of the road as a physical facility and does not obstruct the driver's vision. METHODS : The LS-DYNA collision analysis software was used to model the low-profile barrier, and a small car collision simulation was performed with two different installation methods and by changing the collision speeds of the vehicle. The installation methods were divided into a fixed installation method based on on-site construction and a precast method, and collision speeds of 80 and 100 km/h were applied. The weight of the crash vehicle was 1.3 tons, and the segment lengths of the low-profile barriers were 2.5 and 4.0 m, respectively. The lowprofile barriers were modeled as precast concrete blocks, and the collision simulation for a fixed concrete barrier was performed by fixing the nodes at the bottom of the low-profile barrier. The low-profile barrier comprised a square cross-section reinforced concrete structure, and the segments were connected by connecting steel pipes with varying diameters to wire ropes. RESULTS : From comparing and analyzing the small car collision simulations for the changes in collision speeds and installation methods of the low-profile barrier, a significant difference was found in the theoretical head impact velocity (THIV) and acceleration severity index(ASI) for the 2.5-m barrier at a collision speed of 80 km/h. However, the differences in the installation method were not significant for the 4.0-m barrier. The occupant safety index with a collision speed of 80 km/h was calculated to be below the limit regardless of the installation method, and the length of the segment satisfied the occupant protection performance. At a collision speed of 100 km/h, when the segment length of the 2.5-m barrier was fixed, the THIV value exceeded the limit value; thus, the occupant protection performance was not satisfied, and the occupant safety index differed depending on the installation method. The maximum rotation angle of the vehicle, which reflects the behavior of the vehicle after the collision, also varied depending on the installation method, and was generally small in the case of precast concrete. CONCLUSIONS : Low-profile barriers can be installed using a fixed or precast method, but as a result of the simulation, the precast movable barrier shows better results in terms of passenger safety. Therefore, it would be advantageous to secure protection performance by installing a low-profile barrier with the precast method for increased safety in high-speed vehicle collisions.

PURPOSES : In the case of a turning maneuver at an at-grade intersection or changing the driving path, the trajectory of a vehicle with a long body, such as a large bus or an articulated bus, should be analyzed from the perspective of road design. In this study, an articulated bus was selected to analyze the off-tracking, swept path width, and lane encroach hment for vehicle turning. METHODS : In this study, four scenarios were developed for right- and U-turn situations. For the right-turn situation, cases were divided into radii of 15 m (Scenario 1) and 40 m (Scenario 2). For the U-turn situation, the cases were analyzed based on a U-turn after stopping at the stop line (Scenario 3) and without stopping at the stop line for the U-turn (Scenario 4). Each scenario was examined at 5° (Right-turn) and 10° (U-turn) angles to analyze the off-tracking, swept path width, and lane encroachment. In addition, four Global Positioning System (GPS) antennas were installed on top of the articulated bus to obtain the driving trajectory of the vehicle. GPS locational reference points were marked on the testing ground to improve positioning accuracy. RESULTS : As a result of the right-turn analysis at an intersection radius of 15 m (Scenario 1), the average off-tracking per angle was 1.04 m, the average swept path width was 3.89 m, and the lane encroachments occurred at an angle of 65° to 70°. For the right-turn analysis at an intersection radius of 40 m (Scenario 2), the average off-tracking per angle was 3.71 m, and the average swept path width was 3.31 m. Unlike the results for the 15-m radius, no lane encroachment was found. Furthermore, the averages of the off-tracking in the at-grade intersection U-turn situation were 2.65 m (Scenario 3) and 2.54 m (Scenario 4), and the average swept path width was 6.15 m. CONCLUSIONS : The required driving width when an articulated bus performs a turning maneuver at an at-grade intersection was analyzed, revealing the implications that must be considered for busway design.

PURPOSES : This study was conducted to analyze the driving width of the vehicle body and off-track width of front-rear tires when a large vehicle or an articulated bus passes through a roundabout. METHODS : The driving width was measured using two methods considering the off-tracking tire and the size of the vehicle body. The test conditions of the roundabout were considered as follows: number of entry/exit sections (three-legs roundabout and four-legs roundabout), number of lanes (one lane and two lanes), driving speed (10 km/h, 20 km/h, and 30 km/h), driving trajectory (centerline and maneuver), and driving path (right turn, straight, left turn, and U-turn). The driving trajectories of large buses or articulated buses were analyzed using a road design simulation tool (AutoTURN Pro). RESULTS : Consequently, it was observed that the driving width calculated using the off-track width of the front and rear tires was lower than that analyzed for the vehicle body. The width was smaller in the case of driving in the one-lane roundabout than that in the two-lane roundabout. In particular, it was analyzed that the situation in which the turning path invades the lane appeared in left-turn (East → South) and U-turn (East → East) situations. The width was narrower in the case of driving in the one-lane roundabout than that in the two-lane roundabout. CONCLUSIONS : The study results are expected to be applied for designing roads when large buses or articulated buses are selected as design vehicles.

PURPOSES : The percentage of vehicle overturning accidents is 16.3% of vehicle alone fatal accidents, with a fatality rate of 9.0%, accounting for a high proportion, and heavy vehicles with a high center of gravity are vulnerable to overturning accidents. In the standard guidelines of Super-Bus Rapid Transit(S-BRT), it is recommended to install physical facilities that separate buses from other traffic on dedicated bus ways, and lane separation facilities are being developed. To develop low-profile lane separation facilities that do not interfere with sight obstruction for pedestrians and drivers, it is necessary to review the height of lane separation facilities to prevent overturning crashes of heavy vehicles. METHODS : Heavy vehicle impact conditions of 8ton-55km/h-15°, 8ton-55km/h-20°, 8ton-65km/h-15°, and 8ton-65km/h-20°were applied to compare the vehicle behavior by the height of lane separation facilities using LS-DYNA, a three-dimensional nonlinear impact analysis program based on speed and angle changes. In addition, the behavior of the vehicle after the collision was analyzed to examine the impact conditions in which an overturning crash occurs when a heavy vehicle collides with a low-profile lane separation facility and the appropriate height of the facility to prevent overturning. RESULTS : In general, under the 8ton-65km/h-15°condition, which is a heavy vehicle impact condition used in the performance standard of the barrier, the vehicle’s behavior after the collision was stable as the height of the lane separation facility increased. CONCLUSIONS : Therefore, when the impact conditions were 8ton-65km/h-15°or less, it was determined that the appropriate height to prevent the condition of the lane separation facility was 400mm or more.

PURPOSES : According to the guidelines of Super Bus Rapid Transit(BRT), dedicated bus roads and dedicated bus lanes shall be used, and physical lane separation facilities should be installed for lane separation. Therefore, physical barriers (lane separation facilities) are being developed for exclusive bus operations. Low-profile lane separation facilities should be developed that do not interfere with the views of pedestrians and drivers. The appropriate heights of the barrier to prevent overriding in the event of passenger car crashes were reviewed. METHODS : By applying the performance standards of the safety barrier, passenger protection performance according to the change in the height of the lane separation facilities and the vehicle behavior after the crash were analyzed using computer crash simulations. Crash criteria of 1.3 ton-60 km/h-20°and 1.3 ton-80 km/h-20°were used as vehicle impact conditions. The simulation was performed by increasing the height of the lane separation facilities from 200 mm to 500 mm. To prevent the deformation of the lane separation facilities owing to a vehicle crash, the boundary conditions of the node under the lane separation facilities were fixed and modeled. RESULTS : The collision simulation results showed that, for a collision speed of 60 km/h, no override occurred for the height of the lane separation facility of 250 mm or more, and for a collision speed of 80 km/h, no override occurred for the height of the lane separation facility of 300 mm or more. CONCLUSIONS : Therefore, the appropriate height of the lane separation facility for the collision of a passenger car with a collision speed of 80 km/h or less was determined to be 300 mm or more.

PURPOSES : In this study, we review the method and equations suggested in the usual guidelines to calculate the lane widening for curved sections, and proposed values of the widths and the amount of widening that reflected the driving trajectory of an articulated bus. METHODS : A simulation was used to obtain the trajectory of articulated bus, which is adequate for a Super-Bus Rapid Transit(S-BRT) service with the longest length of the design vehicle. This study was conducted by dividing the trajectory into curved and tangential sections, and the extent of widening was analyzed by changing the rotation angle by 5°. In addition, the results related to the amount of widening from the conducted analysis were applied to particular situation of right turns of an articulated bus at urban intersection. The possible conflict situations that may occur were analyzed. RESULTS : When analyzing the rotation angle at which the size of the driving width was set to be the largest for each lane center radius, the rotation angle for a lane center radius ( =15m) was 35°, the rotation angle for a lane center radius ( =20m) was 45°, the rotation angle for a lane center radius ( =25m) was 55°, and the rotation angle for a lane center radius ( =30m) was 60°. CONCLUSIONS : As the radius increases, the required driving width and the amount of widening decrease. The rotation angle that requires the largest driving width is presented. The results show that as the central radius ( ) of the lane increases, the amount of widening for each rotation angle decreases. In addition, based on the results of the analysis of the driving width for each rotation, the trajectory of an articulated bus was applied to an at-grade intersection to check the distance required for widening from the beginning point of the curve.