Assessment of road roughness effects on heavy vehicles on state highways in Victoria/Australia

A research project was initiated to identify surface roughness characteristics that influence heavy transport operatorsafety perception of the serviceability and rideability of road pavements with high levels of LWR in Victoria/Australia. The project involved conducting a subjective assessment survey to collect truck driversafety ratings of ride quality for a number of road test sections with varying roughness levels. The results of this study indicate that for the sections tested, the excitation of the low frequency vibration modes of the truck body including body roll have greater influence on truck driversafety perception of pavement rideability than the high frequency ones. However, vibrations resulting from exciting both the low and high frequency modes contribute to DWL of road pavements. The study also showed that climate and reactivity of the subgrade soil have great influence on roughness characteristics of pavement surfaces and their dynamic interaction with heavy vehicles.