Factors Contributing to the Retention of Seated Passengers During Emergency Stops

摘要

In order to examine specific Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) developments and concepts, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration has undertaken a new program of studies and technology investigations known as the Automated Guideway Transit Technology (AGTT) Program. The objective of one segment of this program, the Systems Safety and Passenger Security (SS&PS) study, is the development of guidelines for the assurance of actual and perceived passenger safety and security in AGT systems. The prime objective of this deceleration and jerk research study was to provide AGT system planners, designers, and operators with guideline information on the acceleration levels at which seated AGT passengers might be expected to be thrown from their seats during emergency stops. A series of seven experiments was conducted to examine the variables that could contribute to a safe emergency stop on an AGT system. Sixty subjects, conforming to a desired range, experienced emergency decelerations in a test vehicle controlled by an automated braking system. The independent variables examined were seat contour and covering, seat orientation and tilt, footrests and armrests, and rate of change of deceleration (jerk). The dependent variables were the deceleration level at which subjects moved from sensors that were imbedded in the experimental seat and subject ratings.