Physics Of Road Safety

The Physics of Road Safety

In our modern world of today we slowly innovate more and more. However as we innovate we forget to advance and improve on our current inventions. One of these inventions is the automobile. One of the current problems facing the automobile is its safety on the road. With more people using automobiles, we should focus on solving these problems before looking towards the future of transportation. I will be discussing the factors which influence the road safety of automobiles.

Road safety is preventing the death or injury of people using the road. [1] Most deaths and injuries happen in road accidents, and to prevent these from happening, we must change the friction and texture of the road and adjust the tires so it’s

Because of the type of texture gravel contains. That being a form of stones. Cars will end up creating the road more bumpy and will shift and move the small rocks around due to there being minimal friction between the surface and the road. When the wheels of the car rotate around they shift the gravel as well creating potholes in the road. These make it unsafe to drive at fairly high speeds since the car can be thrown off balance if it encounters these potholes. In addition since most gravel roads are not connected and the road is made of loose gravel, the gravel can fly around and potentially damage parts of the car or even the tyres. [2] During rainy days these gravel roads become muddy and problematic to drive through. Strong control over the steering wheel will be be required as one would need to be watch out for eroded areas on the road and drainage ditches for larger cars, as they face the problem of potentially overturning due to their high centre of gravity. [2] To prevent the likelihood of these accidents happening Hazard signs telling one to look out at the road will have to be set up to alert drivers that they could encounter such problems if they pass through here, if improvement of the road is not

They are not crushed rocks laid out on a road but a chemical mixture that has a smooth surface. Asphalt is mostly laid out on gravel roads to improve its durability. The bitumen allows the asphalt to endure significant plastic deformation. [12] Because of the asphalt being so compact it is unable to erode as easily as gravel and will suffer minimal fatigue from heavy cars passing on it. This will make driving more comfortable and safer than driving on a gravel road.

Another type of Asphalt is Chip seal. This is used for pavements and streets in rural and minor traffic areas. Chip seal is made from combining layers of asphalt with aggregate. [4] Chip seal roads aren’t particularly safe to drive on at fast speeds. Because of the crushed stone that may be sometimes left behind while applying the chipseal on the road they can chip of the paint on some cars and cause loss of control for smaller vehicles. [4]

Concrete is considerably popular in most countries around the world and is what most are made of nowadays. Concrete is made from mixing cement, sand and water. Concrete can sometimes have a smooth surface depending with what it’s mixed with. Compared to asphalt, concrete is resistant to weather conditions, lasts longer but doesn’t provide better