Citation

Schmitt V, Renou C, Guiguen N. Proc. Int. Tech. Conf. Enhanced Safety Vehicles 2005; 2005: 5p.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, In public domain, Publisher National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

As far as military vehicles are concerned, in particular heavy logistics trucks, French land forces must face various constraints, often unknown to classical safety requirements. In fact, the main requirements for these vehicles are : 1) long life, which implies, after years’ service, the risk of old-fashioned vehicles lagging behind, when it comes to new technologies; 2) cross-country capacities, which are often possible using off-road tyres and big-stroke suspensions, with sound behaviour on muddy or sandy soils, but only fair or even poor behaviour on asphalt roads; 3) important payload with a high centre of gravity, which is detrimental to sound behaviour, increasing the risk of rollover in cornering conditions. To improve safety on these vehicles, a study program is in progress within the French MOD. In this paper, the authors are describing the genesis of this program, and the means they have chosen, summarised as follows : 1) an analysis of all accidents involving French military vehicles will be carried out, as a result of which a complete accident database will be set up; 2) an exhaustive list of active or passive safety systems will be established; 3) a global matrix between all real accidents and all these safety systems will be created, using such methods as simulation : for each accident and, with the vehicle equipped independently with each safety system, this matrix is aimed at estimating if : (a) the accident would ever have occurred (with a level of likelihood); (b) the seriousness could have been reduced; (c) no real changes would have occurred at all. At the end of the study due 2007, a list of the top 10 safety systems, in terms of a cost/efficiency ratio, will eventually be drawn to equip new or refurbished military vehicles, and a specific safety demonstrator made and tested.