Firefighting vehicles’ driving dynamics under extreme load

Abstract

The paper summarizes and compares results of an evaluation of basic driving characteristics measurements of fire fighting vehicles. Two tanker trucks used by the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic are compared by different chassis. A TATRA vehicle with a chassis allowing off-road driving and a SCANIA vehicle with a chassis designed for driving on paved city roads. The deceleration and acceleration characteristics of the vehicles are monitored and evaluated. Braking distance, time to stop and deceleration were monitored during the evaluation of braking characteristics. For the acceleration evaluation, start-up time and a distance to reach the desired speed were monitored. These parameters were monitored depending on the type of tyres, the test track surface and the climatic conditions.