Methods for In-Vehicle Measurement of Truck Driver Postures

Effective application of human figure models to truck interior design requires accurate data on the postures and positions of truck drivers. Errors in positioning of figure models propagate to errors in reach, visibility, and other analyses. This paper describes methods used in a recent study to measure in-vehicle driving postures in Class 6, 7, and 8 trucks. A three-dimensional coordinate measurement machine was used to measure body landmark locations after a driver completed a short road course. The data were used to validate posture-prediction models developed in a previous laboratory study. Vehicle calibration, driver selection, and testing methods are reviewed.