Completed project: "Survey into warnings against wheel separation accidents of heavy duty trucks"

What led to the introduction of the service?

As part of the "Campaign to prevent heavy duty truck wheel separation accidents" launched by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on November 1, 2020, we were commissioned to conduct a "survey into warnings against large vehicle wheel separation accidents." We planned and conducted verification experiments using dummies to quantitatively evaluate the impact of a tire detached from a vehicle colliding with a human body.

Issues before introduction

Wheel separation accidents due to broken wheels and nuts on heavy duty trucks are frequent, with 112 accidents occurring in 2019, an increase of 31 from the previous year. There was a need for verification experiments to accurately assess the severity of wheel separation accidents and to obtain evidence to formulate preventative measures at an early stage.

Examples of use after introduction

First, we determined an evaluation index for the verification experiments and set the criteria for determining the degree of bodily harm. We created jigs to hold detached tires and dummies and used sensors to precisely calculate the level of bodily harm caused by the impact of the separated tire. The verification experiment was completed in a span of about two months, from the planning stage to implementation and delivery of the completed video. The results have been used for research and studies into how to prevent wheel separation accidents.

Effectiveness and achieved results

We succeeded in quantitatively evaluating the risk of wheel separation accidents and found evidence for the importance of daily inspections, especially of wheels and nuts. This survey is also being used to familiarize transport companies with how to prevent accidents.