Characterization of truck-driver system response to crosswind in tunnel exit conditions

Crosswind is one of the most dangerous conditions that lead to unsafe operation of heavy vehicles. For this reason, the interaction between cross wind and the vehicle has been studied, with focus on driver reactions. With the aid of a dynamic driving simulator, an ad-hoc scenario was created and tested. It reproduces a wind gust at the exit of a tunnel. The test has been performed by 28 drivers at different vehicle and wind speeds. The results of the tests have been analyzed to assess and classify the driver response and tune the parameters of a driver model.