In the United States, the Major Accident Investigation Team (M.A.I.T.), with the assistance of the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission (TSC) and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), entered into a two phase testing program. The purpose was twofold: (1) To identify the typical brake fluid condition on the average motor vehicle; and (2) to identify the conditions in which a collision investigator can recognize fluid failure as a collision causing circumstance. The project was broken into two phases. Phase one consisted of developing a database of boiling points in randomly selected vehicles and documenting the boiling point of the brake fluid in relation to the make, model, year, mileage, and service type. This data was compared to available data from a New Zealand/Australia study completed several years ago. Phase two involved the testing of three different classes of vehicles. The vehicles selected represented truck class, utility class, and small passenger car class. The influence of vehicle classification and braking systems was compared with the manner and type of failure associated with vaporization of the fluid. A mixture of 5%, 3% and zero percent moisture contaminated fluid was used in the study. (A)
Abstract