Melbourne has had a long tradition of using trams to transport people. However over all the years of debate regarding their usage, their crash compatibility with other road users has been largely ignored. It seems that no studies into their crashworthiness have been carried out to date. This paper investigates issues relating to tram crashes with other road users. The paper begins with a summary of road accident statistics and identification of areas where trams are particularly susceptible to accidents. Compatibility in the case of a tram crashing into a car's side and into a pedestrian is discussed. A computer simulation model, showing how the crashworthiness of the front of a tram with other road users was investigated at Monash, is described. A number of simulation results of tram-into-car and tram-into-pedestrian impacts at relatively low speeds demonstrate the abnormally high impact severity such vehicles impose on other road users. Some proposed methods of reducing the aggressive nature of tram front ends are also proposed. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E202275.
Samenvatting