This study addresses the performance of four-wheel-steering vehicles in high-speed lane change manoeuvres. The study compares the recorded steering command of an experienced driver in executing a lane change manoeuvre with that determined via solving a suitably formulated optimization problem. The study found them to be qualitatively comparable. This finding allows an analytical comparison of the optimal lane change performance achievable with both two and four-wheel-steering vehicles. For a representative high-speed lane change manoeuvre, the study revealed that, in the hands of an experienced driver, the performance benefit achievable with four-wheel-steering vehicles is not significant. This conclusion is in agreement with road test results obtained with two production four-wheel-steering vehicles. The applicability of the proposed "optimal control" approach in evaluating the performance of other driver-vehicle manoeuvres is an interesting topic for future study. (A)
Abstract