Calculation of an Average Vehicle’s Sideways Acceleration on Small Roundabouts

Abstract

The calculation of the average sideways acceleration, based on speed and angular velocity on small roundabouts for a vehicle of up to 3.5 t gross vehicle mass, is described in this paper. Calculations of the turning radius are derived from angular velocity and an automatic selection of events, based on the lateral acceleration of the coefficient of variation within a defined time window. The calculation of the turning radius based on speed and angular velocity yields almost identical results to the calculation of the turning radius by the three-point method using GPS coordinates, as described in previous research. This means that the calculation of the turning radius, derived from the speed of GNSS/INS dual-antenna sensor and gyroscope data, yields similar results to those from the computation of the turning radius derived from the coordinates of a GNSS/INS dual-antenna sensor. The research results can be used in the development of sensors to improve road safety.