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SHOCK ABSORBER AS A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE TO MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT

Osama Youssef Abdel-Fattah


1

Samir M. El-Demerdash

Lecturer, Automotive Department, Buraydah College of Technology Gotevot KSA. B.O Box 2663 Buraydah 81999 E mail: begam2050@yahoo.com
2

Prof. of Vehicle Dynamic and Control, Faculty of Engineering Mataria, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. Email: eldemerdash40@hotmail.com

Abstract Traffic accidents appear to play an important role in overall mortality rates worldwide. Many factors combine to produce circumstances that may lead to a motor vehicle crash- there is rarely a single cause of such an event. There are three sources of factors contribute vehicle crashes: human factors, roadway environment factors, and vehicle factors. Human factors involve the actions taken by or the condition of the driver of the automobile, including speeding and violating traffic laws, as well as being affected by alcohol or drugs, in attention, decision error, and age. Roadway environment factors include the design of the roadway, roadside hazard, and roadway conditions. Vehicle factors include any failures that may exist in the automobile or design of the vehicle. The objectives of this paper are to study how much the vehicle factors (especially shock absorbers) affect traffic accidents and how much knowledge drivers has about the function and effect of shock absorbers on vehicle safety and stability. The results showed that, with worn shock absorbers, the stopping distance during braking is increased from 5% to 25% depending on vehicle speed and weight. Also, using 200 drivers questionnaire showed that, more than 60% of the drivers did not know the function of shock absorber in cars and the effect of worn shocks on the vehicle safety and stability and driver's fatigue. The findings are discussed to the necessity of changing knowledge of drivers and assist decision makers in the development to improve transportation system in the KSA.

1- Introduction Traffic accidents appear to play an important role in overall mortality rates worldwide [1]. Many factors combine to produce circumstances that may lead to a motor vehicle crash- there is rarely a single cause of such an event. Three categories of factors contribute to crashes: human factors, roadway environment factors, and vehicle factors [2]. Most researches today agree that it is not appropriate to attempt to isolate a single main cause of an accident, early accident studies demonstrated that more than 70 % of all accidents could be attributed to road user behaviour characteristics [,3,6,18], but there are another factors that contribute to road traffic accidents such as vehicle and roadway environment, as shown in figures1, 2 and 3. A number of studies have reported differences in traffic accident causes related to

vehicle mechanical components, KHAA[4], reviewed the major vehicle components which may affect road safety, the components are: Braking system, tyres, suspension system, steering system, lighting, and visibility (glass, windscreen wiper, and rear mirrors). A study published by the university of Valencia [5] shows that of the 200,000 accidents that occurred on Spanish roads, 5000 were caused by mechanical failure. 40% of these incidents of mechanical failure could be traced to a problem with the suspension system, and thus with the shock absorbers. In Kenya, according to [6], the main categories of causes of motor vehiclerelated traffic injuries are human factor(85.5%), vehicle factor (5.1%), environment (2.9%) and other factors (6.4%).

In Spain, six of the world's leading shock absorber manufactures [7] surveyed 400 Spanish motorists, when asked which parts of their car needed to be checked regularly, 67.5% cited brakes, 62.6% tyres, 58% oil, but just 7.5% mentioned shock absorber. 28.9% of interviewees (and 47% of female interviewees ) didn't know how many shock absorbers their vehicles had, and 93.4% of drivers questioned were unaware of the need to check their absorbers every 12000 miles (20000 km), this lack of awareness becomes even more alarming in view of high number of road accidents caused by warn shock absorbers. More than 165,000 vehicles have been tested by [8] in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands, initial results showed that 47% of all vehicles tested with an average 111,000 kms driven have seriously worn or damage shock absorber. In Britain [9], the study showed that mechanical faults are a factor in 5.5% of road accidents, environmental factor around 18% of road accidents and human factor more than 80%. In South Africa, 40% of the vehicles on the suburban road and 29% of the vehicles on the highway [10] had mechanical defaults that contravened current road and traffic regulations and may, therefore, be at risk of causing an accident due to a mechanical failure.

Figure2:Primary causes of highway crashes [11 ] 2- Dangerous of worn shock absorber To show how worn shock absorbers can affect a cars safety, Tenneco Automotive [6,8] has worked with a number of independent research bodies. When compared to a car with shock absorbers that function at 100%, a car with 50% worn shock absorber: (1)Takes 2.6 meters longer to stop from a speed of 80 km/h on a straight road with only a driver in the car. (2) Takes 11.3 meters longer to stop when fully loaded (with a driver and three passengers) and travelling on a straight road with an uneven surface from a speed of 70km/hr. (3) Begins to aquaplane at 109 km/h. If the shocks are perfectly efficient, aquaplaning will start at125 km/hr. (4) Takes 23% longer to make an emergency stop in snow or ice, even when equipped with an ABS system, as the wheels block while braking because the shocks provoke the malfunctioning of the ABS control unit. After 9,000 km a car with 65% worn out shocks suffers 10% more tyre wear than when equipped with perfectly efficient shock absorbers, costing the cars owner more money and potentially reducing the vehicles safety. Also Monroe [13], presents these facts about the effect of worn shock absorbers on vehicle safety and driver (in comparison with new shock absorber) such as : (1) Braking : At 55km/h on a bend the braking distance (for worn shock) may be increased by 2.3menough to cause an accident. (2) Road holding : If shock absorbers are 50% worn, the maximum safe speed, even on a dry road, can be reduced by 10%. (3) Aquaplaning: With a 50 % worn shock absorber and on 6mm of surface water, skidding and aquaplaning can begin at

85.5

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

6.4 2.6

5.1

10

0 Others Environmental Vehicle Human

Figure 1 : Primary causes of highway crashes [ 6]

a speed 10% lower than with new shock absorber. (4) Driver fatigue: Defective shock absorbers increase driver fatigue and can extend reaction time by 26%. (5) Reduced visibility: Unstable and irregular illumination of the road makes night driving dangerous and visually tiring.

(6) Dazzle Exaggerated oscillation dazzles the drivers of oncoming vehicles. Worn shock absorbers also increase wear on important mechanical parts of the vehiclesprings, steering gear, universal joints, differential, tires, rubber suspension bushes, the gear box, wheel bearing, suspension and steering arm ball joints, see figure 4

Figure 3: factors that contribute to road traffic accidents (driver, vehicle and roadway-environment) [12].

Figure 4 : effect of worn shock absorber on vehicle components [14].

Discussion : 200 of drivers at El-Qassim city are reviewed, the analysis of questionnaire revealed several important finding which are summarized as

follow:
(1) About 90% of the drivers had finish the secondary school. Accordingly, it can be assumed that 90% of the drivers were familiar to some extent, with the English language and could read the instructions from the vehicle guide about checking up and maintenance of the vehicles. (2) More than 60% of the drivers between 21 30 years as shown in figure 5. (3) The questionnaire revealed that more than 60% of the drivers did not know the function or types of shock absorbers as shown in figure 6, also 64% of the drivers did not know the effect

of worn shock absorber on the braking distance, figure 7. (4) Figure 8 shows that only 1% of the drivers know the bad effect of worn shock absorber on the driver's fatigue and 64% of the interviewed drivers said that no relation and 35% did not know the relation. (5) The majority of drivers did not know the effect of worn shock absorber on vehicle stability and safety specially at corners (6) About 40% of the drivers checking up the suspension only when braking down and 40% checking the tyre pressure and condition before long trip only. (7) The questionnaire revealed that about 60% of the drivers using commercial spare parts and about 20% using original parts while 19% using used spare parts

Driver's age

62.5

70 60 50 40 % 22.2 30 20 10 0

Do worn shock absorbers increase brake stoping distance?

No Yes dont know

29.1

12.5 2.7 46 - 60 31 - 45 21 - 30 under 20

6.9 63.8

Figure5: The driver's age

Figure 7: Knowledge of relation between shock absorber and stopping distance.

Do you know the function of shock absorber ?

No Yes

Do worn shock absorber increase driver fatige

No Yes

34.7

38.3

dont know

1.38 63.8

61.1

Figure 6: function

Knowledge of shock absorbers&

Figure 8: Knowledge of effect of worn shock absorber on the driver's fatigue

Does the suspension system affect on the vehicle stability and safety specially in cornering?

How often do you check the tyre pressure and condition ?

Dont know No

23.6

76.3

Onec every wheek Onec every month Before long trip

16.6

18

38.8 26.3

Figure 9: Effect of worn shock absorber on the vehicle safety and stability.

Figure 11: Checking tyre pressure and condition

How often do you check the suspension system ?

What type of spare parts do you use ? 59.7 18.8 21.38 80 60 40 20 0

Figure 10: Checking the suspension system components. 6- Conclusion : Three categories of factors contribute to crashes: human factors, roadway environment factors, and vehicle factors. more than 70 % of all accidents could be attributed to road user behaviour characteristics, at least 5% attributed to vehicle failure and 5% attributed to roadway environment. A number of studies (all over the world) have reported differences in traffic accident causes related to vehicle mechanical components such as tyre, suspension, steering and brake system. In this study all the results indicates that drivers need proper education through media campaigns on how to select, check and maintain the suspension system components specially shock absorber. It is hoped that the finding of this study may assist decision makers in the formulation of policies and the development of alternative plans to decrease road traffic accident in the KSA.

Figure 12: Types of spare parts

Acknowledgment The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Adel H. Alzenedy, and Dr. Nabil Gohar. For their valuable advice and information, which have improved the presentation of this paper. APPINDEX 1- Function of shock absorber A shock absorber is a hydraulic mechanism positioned between the tyre and body to dissipate energy generated by road surface irregularities, then reduce the forces transmitted to vehicle body and passengers as well as that generated between the tyres and roads. These functions can be summarized in the following two points : (1) Limit spring oscillations (compression extension movements) to smooth the vehicle ride (Figure 13). (2) Control the contact between tyre and road surface, good contact between tyre and

C om m

Onec every 6 month Onec every year Befor long trip only At Brake down only

40.3

33.3

U se d

rig en al

26.3

13.88

er ci al

road surface means good traction, braking and steering (figure 14). 2- Indication of worm shock absorber 2-1 Visual and manual inspection We don't need to be a mechanics though to see the signs of worn shock absorbers. Any of the following problems may indicate worn shock absorbers requiring professional inspection [15]. (1)The vehicle nose-dives under braking, the bonnet dips excessively increasing braking distance. (2)The steering wheel vibrates, sometimes wrongly diagnosed as a wheel alignment or wheel balance problem. (3)The vehicle shakes, rattles and rolls due to lack of damping forces and the vehicle does not hug the road on bends. Worn shocks mean that over bumps the wheels bounce and tyres loose contact with the road surface. (4)The vehicle veers sideways in cross winds or swerves sideways under heavy braking(5)The shock absorber leak oil. Check the ground after parking your car overnight. (6)The tyres on the vehicle wear unevenly, due to wheels bouncing uncontrollably. Bald patches develop called scalloping. Any of these observations will leave no doubt as to the condition of the shock absorbers. One final test that can easily be undertaken is the age old bounce test. With your car parked safely, push down firmly on the boot, the vehicle should

bounce back and settle in place after one bounce. Repeat this test several times at the boot and then test the front suspension by pushing several times on the bonnet. If the vehicle continues to rock several times, like this it is a good sign the shock absorber have worn 2-2 Suspension testing apparatus The European Shock Absorber Manufacturer's Association (EuSAMA) [16] was established a set of guideline for vehicle suspension evaluation called " Recommendations for a vehicle suspension performance evaluation ". Test device that conform to the EuSAMA specification have been developed for the in-service testing of vehicle suspension system, these devices displace a wheel and measure the response of the wheel to the displacement. From the individual responses, the device determines the condition of the shock absorbers, figure 15 shows the sample result for the test. 2-3 Laboratory test of shock absorber To get the characteristics of chock absorber, damping coefficient, must be using the special test machine, the test result is a force-travel diagram and we convert it to force velocity diagram to get the damping coefficient [17] , as shown in figure 16

Figure 13 : shock absorber limit spring oscillations

Figure 14 : Forces acting on the vehicle [12].

Figure 15: Sample EuSAMA result print out

Figure 16 Shock absorber test result

References 1- Jaun S, Akihiro K, Pei S and Junichi M. "Population characteristics of traffic accident- related deaths in JAPAN and IRELAND",1950-2000.The Journal of Medicine, Vol.27, No.4, pp.333-338, 2004. 2- United States General Accounting Office, GAO,. "Research Continues on a Varity of Factors that Contribute to Motor Vehicle Crashes". 2003. 3- A. Benner and D. Crundall. "Road Traffic Accidents in the United Arab Emirates Compared to Western Countries". Dept. of Medical Statistics Epidemiology, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, QATAR, 2005 4- Hong Kong Automotive Associations, http:// www.hkaa.com.hk 5- Monoro Safety Triangle Promotion, http:// www.eu.tenneco-automotive.com 6- Wilson Odero. "Road Traffic Injuries in Kenya, Magnitude, Causes and Status of Intervention. Injury Control and Safety Promotion". Vol. 10,No. 1-2, pp. 53-61. 2003. 7Tenneco Automotive, http:// www.automechani kagulf.com 8- Worrying Results in European Shock Tests, Monroe, 2005. 9-The RoSPA Guide to Road Safety Projects in Bratain. 2005. http:// www.rospa.com/roadsafty/advice/general/p roject.

10-Van Schoor O. "Mechanical Failuers as a Contributing Cause to Motor Vehicle Accidents South Africa". Accid. Anal. Prev. 33(6): 713-21. 2001. 11-http:// www.ctre.iastate.edu/educweb/crp445/Safe ty2.ppt 12- Robert Bosch GmbH. Driving Stability System. Germany, 2005. 13- Effect of Worn Shock Absorbers. MONROE. http:// www.taeu.com/monroe/effects-wornshock.htm 14http://www.midwestautocare.com/shocks2. html. 15Ful Crum. http:// www.sdt.com.au/CARSUSPENSION.htm 16- Steven B. and Wayne B. "Experimental Evaluation of a Non-Intrusive Automotive Suspension Testing Apparatus". Society of Automotive Engineers. 2001-01-1329. 17- O. Y. Abd- Elfattah. "Hydro-Pneumatic Suspension System for Passenger Cars". M.Sc. Thesis, Helwan University. Egypt. 2000. 18- Abdulbari B. "Road Traffic Accident Admissions in the United Arab Emirates". Dept. of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University .

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