Final answer:
In a right turn, the rear wheels track inside the path of the front wheels, a phenomenon known as offtracking. This occurs because rear wheels follow a tighter radius than the steered front wheels. The concept is analogous to force distribution on a bridge, where weight shifts between piers as a vehicle moves, affecting the forces exerted on each pier.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a right turn, the rear wheels of a vehicle will track inside the path of the front wheels due to the difference in the radius of the turn for each set of wheels. This phenomenon is referred to as offtracking or cutting the corner, and it is particularly notable in vehicles with longer wheelbases, such as trucks and buses. The front wheels, being steered, follow the radius of the turn more directly, while the rear wheels follow a tighter, shorter path because they are, effectively, the pivot point around which the front end of the vehicle is turning. This is important for drivers of larger vehicles to understand as it affects how they navigate turns to avoid clipping curbs or veering into adjacent lanes.
Let's consider an example from the excerpt given: Figure 6.5 describes a car moving with a linear velocity, which ties into the understanding that when a vehicle makes a turn, its wheels have to manage different velocities. This is the underpinning science of why the rear wheels track differently—the turn radius affects vehicle dynamics in a practical driving situation.
In terms of force distribution as a vehicle rests or moves across a bridge—such as in the scenario where a 1000 kg car comes to rest at a point 5 meters from the left pier—the forces experienced by the piers change. Initially, both piers support the weight of the car, but as the car moves towards one side, the nearer pier bears a greater proportion of the weight, while the far pier supports less. Thus, as the car moves across the bridge, the left-side force (FL) decreases, and the right-side force (FR) increases—representative of how forces adjust with changing position.