U-turn radius: what is it and what is its importance
Any car is characterized by a number of parameters. Some are paramount and of great interest to the motorist. Other parameters are paid attention to less often, and they have less influence on the formation of the general opinion about the car.
Every car is characterized by such parameter, as a turning radius. This characteristic is often neglected, moreover, not every motorist has the right idea about it. We are here to rectify this state of affairs.
What is a U-turn radius
Already from the name of the characteristic one can guess its essence. This parameter means the half-circle that the car describes during the maneuver with the steering completely turned out. It is necessary to know this value. Moreover, it is necessary to distinguish between turning on a small radius and a large radius.
Some manufacturers specify two parameters separated by a fraction as the turning radius. The smallest turning radius corresponds to the trail of the outside wheel that the vehicle leaves when it turns. This value is called curb-to-curb. This value does not take into account the size of the front overhang, the length of which determines the accuracy of the indicator.
In practice, it is more convenient to use another value – radius “from wall to wall”. In this case, the obstacles, which enter the minimum space in external dimensions and can be hit by the bumper, are taken into account. But that’s not all. There is another nuance that the driver needs to consider when driving in a confined space.
When making a turn, some part of the body moves to the inner side. That is why when leaving a parking lot one should not turn out the steering wheel sharply up to the extreme position. If you do so, you could hit a neighbouring car. To understand what radius is necessary for a U-turn, you need to determine the minimum clearance corridor for your car. To do this, you need to know the distance that separates the maximum and minimum circles.
Such awareness will not only allow you to maneuver without problems in difficult conditions and make the right maneuvers on a narrow road, but also to perform a turn on the road according to the explanations of the traffic police 2018.
How important the parameter is
Modern drivers have to drive in difficult conditions: there are a lot of cars, and there is often not enough space for them. This is especially true for parking spaces in large cities and crowded places. Often the driver has to squeeze between the cars and perform complex maneuvers among other cars.
The turning radius shows the maneuverability of the car, its ability to turn on narrow roads and in limited space. The smaller this parameter is, the more comfortable and easier it will be to control the vehicle while driving in a confined space. If you know the turning radius and the width of the road, you can, by carrying out simple calculations, find out the probability of making a maneuver at one time.
Vehicle manufacturers are sure to indicate the value of interest for each vehicle. This value can be found in a practical manual or a technical description. But there may be a catch here. Many manufacturers specify the minimum indicator – turning on a small radius. This allows them to present their creation as more maneuverable than it really is. To find out the actual index, it is necessary to take into account the size of the overhang of the car.
How we measure
We already talked above about the two values that represent the turning radius of the car. Different methods are used to calculate each of them.
- To calculate the curb-to-curb parameter, you must use a chalk to make a mark on the initial position of the outer wheel. Turn the steering wheel until it takes a boundary position, turn the car 180 degrees. Mark the final position of the wheel. Measure the distance between the marks you have received. Half of this result will be the desired value. It will indicate the necessary width of the road, which will be required to turn the car.
- A more real value displays the characteristic “from wall to wall”. Its calculation requires fixing a rod on the outer corner of the bumper. The chalk is fixed on the rod and the car is turned, as it was done in the previous case. You get a half circle in which you will need to measure the diameter. Half of this value will reflect the radius we need to turn the machine.
There are freely available tables with the turning radius of a passenger car. It is also possible to find the required indicator for a particular brand of car in the instruction manual and technical description. In any case, you should pay attention to this parameter. This knowledge will help to avoid unpleasant situations on the road and parking.
What is the turning radius?
Any car is characterized by a number of parameters. Some are paramount and of great interest to the motorist. Other parameters are paid attention to less often, and they have less influence on the formation of the general opinion about the car.
The indicator of the Toyota Senta car
Every car is characterized by such parameter, as a turning radius. This characteristic is often neglected, moreover, not every motorist has the right idea about it. We are here to rectify this state of affairs.
Already from the name of the characteristic one can guess its essence. This parameter means the half-circle that the car describes during the maneuver with the steering completely turned out. It is necessary to know this value. Moreover, it is necessary to distinguish between turning on a small radius and a large radius.
Schematic representation of a turn of a car
Some manufacturers specify two parameters separated by a fraction as the turning radius. The smallest turning radius corresponds to the trail of the outside wheel that the vehicle leaves when it turns. This value is called curb-to-curb. This value does not take into account the size of the front overhang, the length of which determines the accuracy of the indicator.
In practice, it is more convenient to use another value – radius “from wall to wall”. In this case, the obstacles, which enter the minimum space in external dimensions and can be hit by the bumper, are taken into account. But that’s not all. There is another nuance that the driver needs to consider when driving in a confined space.
Significance for a car with a trailer
When making a turn, some part of the body moves to the inner side. That is why when leaving a parking lot one should not turn out the steering wheel sharply up to the extreme position. If you do so, you could hit a neighbouring car. To understand what radius is necessary for a U-turn, you need to determine the minimum clearance corridor for your car. To do this, you need to know the distance that separates the maximum and minimum circles.
Such awareness will not only allow you to maneuver without problems in difficult conditions and make the right maneuvers on a narrow road, but also to perform a turn on the road according to the explanations of the traffic police 2018.
Block: 1/3 | Number of characters: 2267 Source: https://drivertip.ru/osnovy/chto-takoe-radius-razvorota.html
How important the parameter is
Modern drivers have to drive in difficult conditions: there are a lot of cars, and there is often not enough space for them. This is especially true for parking spaces in large cities and crowded places. Often the driver has to squeeze between the cars and perform complex maneuvers among other cars.
The turning radius shows the maneuverability of the car, its ability to turn on narrow roads and in limited space. The smaller this parameter is, the more comfortable and easier it will be to control the vehicle while driving in a confined space. If you know the turning radius and the width of the road, you can, by carrying out simple calculations, find out the probability of making a maneuver at one time.
Vehicle manufacturers are sure to indicate the value of interest for each vehicle. This value can be found in a practical manual or a technical description. But there may be a catch here. Many manufacturers specify the minimum indicator – turning on a small radius. This allows them to present their creation as more maneuverable than it really is. To find out the actual index, it is necessary to take into account the size of the overhang of the car.
Comparison of maneuverability indicators with different trailers and without them
Block: 2/3 | Number of characters: 1273 Source: https://drivertip.ru/osnovy/chto-takoe-radius-razvorota.html
Bibliographical description:
The requirements for road construction and design are improving due to the increasing dynamic performance of automobiles. When designing roads, there is a need to introduce the concept of “design vehicle”. This term is defined in various ways .
“The design vehicle is a vehicle used to determine the geometric parameters of highways (minimum radii of intersection turning radii in one level, circular intersections) affecting the safety, capacity and cost of the intersection. It is a notional transport unit, the parameters of which are used in the calculation of roadways and their elements. “A design vehicle is a vehicle whose mass, dimensions and dynamic qualities are used in the design of a highway. The parameters of a design vehicle, such as dimensions and minimum turning radius, shall be the same as those of most other vehicles of the same class which are expected to use the road to be designed.”
When designing roads and parking lots, it is necessary to determine the width of passageways, the size of maneuvering platforms, and geometric parameters. This requires, in each case, the construction of the dynamic dimension of design vehicles, which is a time-consuming process (especially for road trains) and not sufficiently mastered by designers.
The absence of systematized reference material on these issues is often the cause of unreasonable design decisions, which either lead to an overestimation of the estimated cost of facilities, or do not provide normal operating conditions for motor vehicles.
We have researched and studied the composition of vehicles traveling on Russian motor roads and divided them into the following groups:
1. passenger car;
2. Trucks;
Buses are divided into three types: city bus, commuter bus, articulated bus; road trains – two types by length.
Based on our research, we proposed the parameters of the recommended design vehicles for the design of highways. Not only the length and width of the design vehicle, but also the base, front overhang, rear overhang, which plays an important role in determining the minimum radius of the road (Table 1) were taken into account.
