The ultimate goal of the work described here is to improve the safety quality of the transportation of goods on highways. Even though the transportation missions of heavy freight vehicles have led to a variety of axle configurations, suspensions, dolly types, and articulation joints, this paper provides a condensed summary of fundamental mechanical properties that can be used to make first-order estimates of the braking and steering performances of these vehicles.

Specialized analysis procedures, based on basic properties of tires, suspensions, brakes, and steering systems, are discussed. These procedures provide simple analytical methods for predicting vehicle performance in maneuvers associated with operating truck combinations on highways. The performance characteristics considered are:​ (1) braking efficiencics, (2) transient low-speed offtracking, (3) high-speed offtracking in a steady turn, (4) directional and roll stability in steady turns, and (5) rearward amplification and roll stability in an avoidance maneuver.

The emphasis of this paper is on describing the features of simplified analytical procedures for estimating the accident-avoidance potential available to drivers for handling towing units and having trailers and semitrailers follow (track) without rolling over or exceeding pavement boundaries.