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This study revisits pavement roughness and examines the suitability of the International Roughness Index (IRI) to describe passenger car ride quality, as well as heavy vehicle excitation and dynamic loads. It describes the development of a new pavement roughness index, called RIDE (Roughness Index for Driving Expenditure). RIDE is based on sprung mass acceleration, rather than relative axle displacement like the IRI. RlDE is calculated in the frequency domain on the basis of the transfer function of a reference vehicle. It results in the root-mean-square (RMS) acceleration of the sprung mass per unit length of pavement traveled. This index is compatible to the current ISO and it is also related to heavy vehicle dynamic excitation.

Faced with escalating maintenance costs, road regulatory authorities are showing increased interest in experimental findings reported in several studies regarding the important effect heavy vehicle dynamic axle loads have on pavement deterioration. The present paper summarizes the predominant aspects of the interaction between the mechanical characteristics of the vehicle system, the road roughness and the dynamic axle loads, and describes how this interaction leads to premature degradation of the roadway. The principle conclusion is that substantial increase in pavement longevity can be achieved by the use of properly designed suspension systems. A framework is proposed for evaluating the vertical dynamic performance of heavy vehicle suspension systems.