For one thing an 18 wheeler has 10 brakes, not 18. So that's an obvious thing to fix.
> Why would it affect trucks and cars differently?
The weight of the truck acts as an acceleration force when going downhill. The tire friction of a car and truck is the same - but then the truck has extra force trying to accelerate the vehicle when it's downhill.
> For one thing an 18 wheeler has 10 brakes, not 18. So that's an obvious thing to fix.
That sounds like it would make a huge difference, yes.
> The weight of the truck acts as an acceleration force when going downhill. The tire friction of a car and truck is the same - but then the truck has extra force trying to accelerate the vehicle when it's downhill.
So does the weight of the car. I don't understand this logic. Every pound that's giving you acceleration is also giving you extra tire friction.
A car and a truck should theoretically lose the same number of meters per second squared of stopping force when going down a hill. If the truck started with weaker brakes then it loses a bigger percentage of stopping force, exacerbating the already-existing problem, but if you find a truck and a car with equal stopping distance on flat ground then they should have equal stopping distance on a slope, shouldn't they?
For one thing an 18 wheeler has 10 brakes, not 18. So that's an obvious thing to fix.
> Why would it affect trucks and cars differently?
The weight of the truck acts as an acceleration force when going downhill. The tire friction of a car and truck is the same - but then the truck has extra force trying to accelerate the vehicle when it's downhill.