CompuServe Messages

Mr Kakert, The advice given thus far in this thread has been excellent. I wouldn't advise trying to work in your own version of the accident dynamics; I would stick to animating according to calculations of a forensic engineer. Having said that, the following simple formula can be used to predict the approximate "locked skid distance" for a given initial vehicle velocity. (Contrary to earlier advice, the vehicle mass is not needed): 0.5 (V^2) where V = vehicle velocity when skid begins D = ————– u = coeffiction of sliding friction between tires (u) (g) and the road g = gravitational acceleration (32.2 ft/s^2) For example, a vehicle travelling at 55 mph (81 ft/s) slams on the brakes and skids to a stop. If the coefficient of sliding friction between the tires and the road is 0.75 (varies widely depending road surface conditions and the tire tread, inflation, etc.), the skid distance would be: D = 0.5 (81 ft/s)^2 / (0.75) (32.2 ft/s^2) = 134 ft Or at 65 mph, D = 188 ft This is a simplistic evaluation and I only use it for getting a rough idea. The coefficient of friction is a squirrely value and, as I said, can vary significantly. For what it's worth, -TC