Motor Vehicle Safety Research Paper

Due to many deaths by motor vehicles The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration legislated a code for Motor Vehicle Safety. This was developed to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations (FMVSS) that requires motor vehicle and equipment items manufacturers must conform and certify compliance. The Federal Safety standards are implemented for minimum safety performance requirements for motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. The main reason for the specific regulations is to protect civilians from death or injury; also against unreasonable risk of crashes resulting from bad designs, performance, or construction of motor vehicles.

In 1967 the FMVSS No. 109 was introduced to regulate passenger car tires. Standard No.

109 specializes in new non pneumatic tires for passenger cars and new temporary spare non-pneumatic tires for use on passenger cars. This standard specifies tire dimensions and laboratory test requirements for endurance, high speed performance, lateral strength, and specifies labeling requirements for non-pneumatic spare tires. The test for different tire designs was used to monitor the strength of reinforcing materials in bias-ply tires and how dependable they are to the resistance of road hazards.

Each tire tested must reach a pacific standard. For instance, the max inflation pressure must be 32,36,40, or 60 pounds per square inch. For each test sample the manufacturers must use three tires. One tire is used for physical dimensions, strength and resistance to bead unseating. Second tire must be used for endurance and the third tire is used for high speed performance. The test procedure for FMVSS No.109 firsts starts off with the preparation of the tire. Mounting the tire and inflating to a specified pressure from the FMVSS No. 109 pressure table. Once the pressure is applied the tire is then acclimatized at room temperature for at least three hours. The specified pressure is adjusted according to the maximum pressure on the sidewall. The portion of the tire between the tread and the bead is called the sidewall. Bead is just the part of the tire that is made of steel wires and is wrapped in ply cords. Tread is just the part of the tire that comes into contact with the road. The test is then started by placing the tire in the machine and forcing a 19mm diameter cylindrical steel plunger

perpendicularly into the tread rib close to the centerline without penetrating the tread groove this is done at a rate of 50-mm per minute. The penetration and force is then collected for five test points around the boundary of the tire. During the test the energy is calculated only if the tire fails to break before the plunger is stopped by reaching the rim, penetration, and the force. The equation used to calculate the energy is W=[(FxP)/2], this is used to determine the breaking energy value of the tire. Once the test is complete and the energy is calculated there is a load-deflection graph that engineers can refer to that will show one test run with penetration is breached. In order to pass the test, the average energy of the test points must surpass the implemented minimum breaking energy for that specific tire.
Pneumatic and other specialty tires are important for the safety of citizens who drive vehicles. Standards for the tires are in place to ensure that there aren’t any deaths or injuries due to bad designs and performance of motor vehicles. So enforcing standards for manufacturers to abide by is essential in making sure people feel safe when driving their vehicles. Tires that pass the standards test will give vehicle owners a sense of protection knowing that their tires are dependable through rough terrain for a long period of time.