Fundamentals of Transportation/Horizontal Curves/Problem
A given curve was very poorly designed. The two-lane road used has a lower-than-average coefficient of friction (0.05), no superelevation to speak of, and 4-meter lanes. 900 kg vehicles tend to go around this curve and are stylistically top heavy. County engineers have warned that this curve cannot be traversed as safely as other curves in the area, but politicians want to keep the speed up to boost tourism in the area. The curves have a radius of 500 feet and a design speed of 80 km/hr. Because the vehicles using the curve are top heavy, they have a tendency to roll over if too much side force is exerted on them (the local kids often race around the curve at night to get the thrill of "two-wheeling"). As an engineer, you need to prove that this curve is infeasible before an accident occurs. How can you show this?