Validation of a fixed-base automotive simulator for run-off-road safety and recovery training

Traffic fatalities and injuries continue to demand the attention of researchers and governments across the world as they remain significant factors in public health and safety. Enhanced legislature, together with vehicle and roadway technology, has helped to reduce the impact of traffic crashes in many scenarios. However, one specifically troublesome area of traffic safety which persists is the run-off-road crash where a vehicle’s wheels leave the paved portion of the roadway and begin to travel on the shoulder or side of the road. Large percentages of fatal and injury traffic crashes are attributed to run-off-road events. One of the most critical reasons why run-off-road scenarios quickly evolve into serious crashes is poor driver performance. Drivers are unprepared to handle the situation safely and often execute dangerous maneuvers, such as overcorrection, which can lead to devastating results. One countermeasure which directly addresses the driver performance is driver education and training. In this ...