Estudio y análisis de los modelos para la estimación de la velocidad de impacto en atropellos a peatones y su validación con herramientas informáticas de simulación de accidentes de tráfico

  1. MUÑOZ RODRÍGUEZ, JOSÉ CARLOS
Supervised by:
  1. Pedro Gil Jiménez Director

Defence university: Universidad de Alcalá

Fecha de defensa: 21 June 2017

Committee:
  1. Francisco Javier Páez Ayuso Chair
  2. Hilario Gómez Moreno Secretary
  3. Germán Salido Campos Committee member
Department:
  1. Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones

Type: Thesis

Teseo: 532413 DIALNET

Abstract

When the Judicial Authority has to sentence a crime related to pedestrian run over by a car, there are two key issues in determining the liability of the drivers involved in the accident. The first question is to determine the speed at which it occurred, and whether it was within the permitted limits; the second question is if the driver could have avoided the accident. In other words, if the vehicle was circulating at the calculated speed, it is important to know if the accident was avoidable for its driver or, if the calculated speed was above the limits, we have to determine if the accident could have been avoided if the speed was within the permitted limits. When answering these two questions, it will be more simple for the judge to determine whether the conduct might be imprudent or not, and in the case of a reckless behavior, if this imprudence would be serious or less serious. In the first phase of this thesis, the working hypothesis will consist in a detailed study of twelve methods or physical-mathematical models of calculation (according to various authors) to estimate the speed of the vehicle at the time of the pedestrian impact by the car based on the projection distance (theoretical or empirical models), and another method from the damages in the vehicle. This study will obtain data grouped in tables with values related to the calculated distance of the projection, using these models, circulating the vehicles at different speeds known impact. In addition, if the method allows, different variables will be established to analyze also their influence on the final result. The second phase, once obtained the data of the first, will validate these results with the Virtual Crash software, as a new generation program for the simulation of traffic accidents, designed to perform calculations in real time through a PC and also it is possible to see the simulation results in 3D movement from different positions in a scale, and generating tables and graphs with those results. The variables that will be introduced in the program will be referred to different types of vehicles, speed of the vehicle at the time of impact with the pedestrian, braking if applicable, types of pedestrians, etc. Thus, 1435 pedestrian run over by a car have been simulated. Two hundred and twenty two of these simulations have been invalidated by different anomalies during the completion (usually because the pedestrian has been transported or dragged by the vehicle); with this, the percentage of valid simulations has reached almost 85%, which is considered enough data for the study and comparative to perform. The final objective of the present work will be to validate the results obtained, either by analytical methods, or by methods of estimation of the speed based on the damages suffered by the vehicles, with the program Virtual Crash, as well as checking the influence of the different variables after we have introduced them in the methods and in the computer software determining, where appropriate, depending on the results that have been obtained, the most appropriate model studied or method, in each type of pedestrian impact and kind of pedestrian. Thus, a useful, updated and accurate guide will be obtained to choose the most suitable physical-mathematical models to use in investigations of accidents of pedestrians that have been run over by a car.