The realistic parameter space of the vehicle field in Germany for full vehicle driving dynamics simulations illustrated by the development of a shock absorber inspection criterion

New regulations and methods of vehicle inspections offer an opportunity to reduce the number of road traffic fatalities. Driving dynamics simulations and traffic accident simulations can be carried out to assess the impact of new test regulations. Appropriate vehicle simulations should therefore be carried out for a suitable parameter space. This work presents the statistical distribution of important vehicle concept parameters in the German vehicle field in 2021 and provides a database of the 50 most frequently occurring vehicle parameter classes, which represent almost 50% of all vehicles in Germany. Among other data, the database contains information on vehicle mass, wheelbase, track widths, wheel dimensions, axle load distribution and axle concepts. The parameter database is extended with additional vehicle parameters, such as stiffness, damping, and inertia, using estimation methods from vehicle development and empirical databases. In the second part of the publication, the database is used to derive a criterion for evaluating suspension damping during slow speed bump crossings. The criterion is validated with 7688 slow speed bump crossings performed with 1165 different vehicles with intact and degraded shock absorbers. The developed criterion is able to detect degraded suspension damping with two degraded shock absorbers with an accuracy of 99.4%.