Skip to main content

Researching vehicle tyre safety

For the last two years a team of European partners has been examining the interaction between vehicle tyres and road surfaces. According to the UK's TRL, one of the partners in the European project Tyrosafe (Tyre and Road Surface Optimisation for Skid resistance And Further Effects), devices to measure skid resistance were developed at the forerunner of the UK's TRL in the 1930s.
February 15, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The European Tyrosafe project has been examining the interaction between vehicle tyres and road surfaces
For the last two years a team of European partners has been examining the interaction between vehicle tyres and road surfaces.

According to the UK's 777 TRL, one of the partners in the European project Tyrosafe (Tyre and Road Surface Optimisation for Skid resistance And Further Effects), devices to measure skid resistance were developed at the forerunner of the UK's TRL in the 1930s.

"Now there are lots of different types of equipment in use across Europe and around the world. Unfortunately, they operate on different principles and give different results because of the large number of variables affecting road/tyre friction," says the TRL.

The results of Tyrosafe will encourage public authorities of EU Member States to use existing and new research knowledge, to reduce fatalities, and promote environmental compatibility of road surfaces.

"The main objectives of the project were to raise awareness, to coordinate and prepare for European harmonisation, and to optimise the assessment and management of essential tyre/road interaction parameters, in order to increase safety and support greening of European road transport," says Tyrosafe, which completed its two-year project at the end of June.

The project is a coordination action funded by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme and it consists of seven European partners (coordinator, the 2682 Austrian Institute of Technology; Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (1369 BASt), Germany; 2686 Rijkswaterstaat Dienst Verkeer en Scheepvaart - Ministry of Transport and Navigation, The Netherlands; 2687 Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute; 1364 Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories, Belgium; Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (1368 LCPC), France, and TRL.

"The most significant project outcomes are the recommendations for future policies concerning road surface properties, the Roadmap and Implementation Plan for Harmonisation of Skid Resistance Measurement Techniques, and the report on influences of road surface properties on skid resistance, rolling resistance, noise emissions, their interdependencies, and the investigation of their interaction with climatic change," says Tyrosafe.

"Environmental questions concerning noise pollution, air quality, and consumption of energy are becoming more and more important. Research has shown that road surface properties can be used to achieve increased safety and reduced environmental impact of road traffic. Drivers need sufficient grip between tyres and the road to accelerate, decelerate or change direction.

"With a sufficiently high level of skid resistance, the safety of roads can be improved and the number of accidents can be reduced."

The winners of the Tyrosafe video competition to produce a short video conveying the importance and raising awareness about the interactions among tyres, roads and safety were Gregor Salobir, Alma Muminovi?, Teja Pišek, Anamarija Repuši?, Karmen Vesenjak who produced TyroSafe-CARO Your Car and Road Science Lab.

Related Content

  • Checking out Europe's motorway service stations
    February 14, 2012
    A survey of a number of Europe's motorway filling stations have thrown up surprising results: some good, some bad. Experts from EuroTest have travelled almost 34,000km to check out 77 filling stations along the most important travel routes in Europe. Keeping a close eye on cameras and staff that might "blow their cover," the results they brought home with them showed that not a single facility [visited] warranted a very good rating.
  • Advances in bitumen technology will boost surface wear life and quality
    September 19, 2012
    From chip fat to banana bags, the race is on to find new bitumen additives which will solve two problems with one solution: replace diminishing petrochemical-based products and make use from waste rather than landfilling it - Kristina Smith reports It is not just the desire to preserve our environment which is driving the industry’s search for products which don’t eat up raw materials. The hunger of emerging economies – particularly China – mean that resources can be hard to come by, so it makes sense for s
  • TRL announces tool to predict incident response consequences
    May 1, 2012
    TRL has formally launched its latest software product to help keep the UK's roads moving when an incident or planned event threatens to create significant congestion. TEST - Tool for Evaluating Strategies for Traffic - has been developed for operators of traffic control centres to predict the consequences of actions they undertake on their network, in response to an incident.Incidents, events and road works all have the potential to impact traffic patterns and flows and can often cause significant congestio
  • ARTBA presents its student transportation video awards
    October 9, 2015
    A high school student from Maryland was named winners of the 920 American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 5th annual “Student Transportation Video Contest.” She will receive a $500 cash prize.