SENIOR VCAL NUMERACY INVESTIGATION

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Stopping distances

A car does not stop the instant you decide to do so. Two factors control how far a car
travels between you seeing a problem and the car coming to a halt.

The first is called the reaction time the time it takes for the driver to react and hit the
brake pedal and the second is the braking distance the distance the car travels when the
brakes are being applied.

1. Write down a formula for stopping distance.

Reaction time

Reaction time is the time between seeing and acting


Measuring reaction time

Visual-Foot Reaction Time Test
In this activity you will measure and calculate your own reaction time. Place a table close to
but not touching a wall. Position the chair on top of the table to simulate a drivers seat. One
student sits on the chair with their right foot on the wall, pretending that the wall is the
accelerator in a car. Have a strong student hold the chair. Another student places a metre
ruler on the wall 10cm to the left of the drivers foot, in the position of the brake in a car.
Line up the zero on the ruler with the ball of the foot. The student holding the ruler lets the
ruler fall do NOT say GO! When the driver sees the ruler falling, the right foot should be
moved as quickly as possible off the accelerator and onto the ruler (brake).

2. Complete the test three times, recording the number of centimetres showing on the ruler.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3



3. Calculate your average reaction time and then your reaction time using
!
!"#
!"#.

Average time Reaction time



4. Average drivers reaction time is 0.75 seconds. How did your reaction time compare to
this? Explain.

Simple reaction time is the measure of a fully prepared person waiting for a signal, and their
reaction to the signal. This is what you measured in the above exercises. In the real world
of driving, many things can distract or impair a driver.

5. List possible distractions to a driver.

6. Write at least 50 words explaining what tests occurred and how reaction time was
affected.
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Calculating reaction distance
As you have a good estimate of your personal reaction time, you can now find how far you
have travelled in that time. There are a number of possible methods for doing this, however,
we will use the following:

Method use the following formula
18
5Vt
D =
where:
D = the distance the car travels in metres
V = the cars velocity or speed in km/h
t = the drivers reaction time in seconds

Example: If you are travelling at 30 km/hr and your reaction time is 0.5 seconds, then:

Step 1:
18
5 . 0 30 5 ! !
= D
18
75
= 167 . 4 =
Step 2: Distance travelled is 4.167 metres, before you hit the brake pedal.


7. Use your personal reaction time & the above method to calculate your reaction distances
at each of the following speeds in the table below. (Remember, this is the distance
covered before the car even begins to slow down!)

Speed (V) Reaction
Distance

40
50
60
80
100
120

8. Is there a relationship between a drivers speed and their reaction distance? Explain.

Braking distance
Braking distance is the distance you travel after you have applied the brakes as the car slows
to stop. On a good bitumen surface, with a car in perfect condition, it takes about 21 m to
stop while travelling at 60 km/hr. This gets longer on wet roads or gravel surfaces.

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We can calculate the effects of different road surfaces on braking distances using the
following formula:

D = ( V ) ! (210 + 97R)
1000
where:
D = distance travelled in metres
V = speed in km/hr
R = surface factor

9. Add the following extra columns to your table. Calculate the braking distances for each of
the speeds below using the above formula.

Speed (V) Reaction
Distance
Dry asphalt Wet asphalt Gravel Snow Ice

40
50
60
80
100
120

Surface factor

Dry asphalt 1.4
Wet asphalt 1.7
Gravel 2.1
Hard snow 6.7
Ice 14.2

10. What impact did speed and the surface have on braking distances? Explain.

Stopping distance

Go back to your table in Q9. Add two extra columns to the right for each surface. An
example is given below. Note: repeat for all surfaces.

Speed (V) Reaction
Distance
Dry
asphalt
Stopping
Distance 1
Stopping
Distance 2
Gravel Stopping
Distance 1
Stopping
Distance 2

40
50
60
80
100
120


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Method 1:
A simple method for calculating stopping distance is given below.


Stopping distance = reaction distance + braking distance

11. In the column Stopping Distance 1, calculate the stopping distances using method 1.

Method 2:

An alternative method for calculating stopping distance is detailed below.


D = 5Vt ! (5t + 2.27)
18
where:
D = the total stopping distance, in metres
V = the cars velocity in km/hr
t = the drivers reaction time in seconds

12. Go back to your table. In the Stopping Distance 2 columns, calculate the stopping
distances using method 2.

13. Was there a difference in your Method 1 & 2 answers? Which is the best method?
Explain why / why not. Use method as required in questions 14 - 20.


Complete the following questions using the information you have obtained in this section
in relation to stopping distances. Round your answers to one decimal place and show all
working.

14. How far will you take to stop when you are travelling at a speed of 80km/hr on a gravel
road?

15. You are driving on a dry asphalt road at 60km/hr.

a) What distance did your car take to stop?

b) At the same speed, how much further would it have taken you to stop on a wet asphalt
road?

c) What should you do if it started raining when you were driving on an asphalt road?

16. When you were driving at 50km/hr on a dry asphalt road, a young child ran onto the road
10 metres in front of you.

a) Would you be able to stop without running over the child? Give a reason for your
answer.

b) Would the situation have been different if it had been raining? Explain.
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17. You like to go to the snow.

a) How far will it take you to stop your car at a speed of 60km/hr on snow?

b) You drove slowly on the road around the ski lodge because the road was covered with
ice. How far will it take you to stop at 15km/hr on the ice?

18. Your family often travels in the country. In dry weather, on an asphalt road, you usually
drive at 100km/hr. What is a safe distance for you to leave between your car and the car
in front? Explain your answer using your results from above.

19. The maximum speed, in km/hr, a car can be travelling to stop within a distance of D
metres can be found by using the formula:
R
D
V
97 210
1000
+
= where: V = maximum speed in km/hr
D = stopping distance in metres
R = road surface index

When you travel on country roads, you like to allow yourself 32 metres to stop.

a) What is the maximum speed you can travel on a gravel road?

b) How much faster can you travel on a dry asphalt road than on a gravel road and still
maintain a 32m stopping distance?

20. In Victoria a special speed limit of 40 km/hr applies to roads near schools.

a) How much shorter is your stopping distance on dry asphalt at 40 km/hr to that at 50
km/hr?

b) What is the difference on wet asphalt?

c) Using this information, do you think this special speed limit is necessary? Explain.








SENIOR VCAL NUMERACY INVESTIGATION
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THIS SECTION MUST BE COMPLETED

SUMMARY

! Summarise in point form what you discovered in relation to reaction time, stopping and
braking distances.
! What was the most surprising piece of information that you discovered? Explain why.
! What was the hardest calculation/s that you had to obtain?


CONCLUSION

! A recommendation to drivers referring to Sections A, B and C.
! What you have learnt and how you could use this information in the future.
! What transferable skills have you learnt as part of the investigation e.g. ability to use
Excel tables & formulae.
! Explain how this investigation could be improved.
! Would you recommend this investigation to be completed again with a different Senior
VCAL group? Explain why / why not.
! Would you prefer to complete this Investigation altogether or would you have
preferred to complete it separately i.e. breaks / other topics in between? Explain
your answer.















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EXTENSION TYRES














































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