Online: Finding Information on Self-Propelled Vehicles

If you are pursuing litigation involving any “self-propelled vehicle,” you can find useful information on the Web site of The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) www.sae.org.

SAE has more than 84,000 members ' engineers, business executives, educators, and students from more than 97 countries ' who share information and exchange ideas for advancing the engineering of mobility systems. It's a resource for standards development, events, and technical information and expertise used in designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for use on land or sea, in air or space.

SAE is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization. The engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles including automobiles, trucks and buses, off-highway equipment, aircraft, aerospace vehicles, marine, rail, and transit systems. SAE disseminates this information through its meetings, books, technical papers, magazines, standards, reports, professional development programs, and electronic databases.

You can research new, revised, and cancelled standards for Ground Vehicles, Aerospace and Aerospace Material Specifications, as well as look up popular standards that apply to those vehicles. The list of revised standards as of March 2004 included Revised Tests for Snowmobile Switching Devices and Components, Motorcycle Classifications, the Test Method for Determining Cold Cracking of Flexible Plastic Materials and the Automotive Ductile (Nodular) Iron Castings. There is a link to the documents describing the revisions and enabling the reader to purchase the standards. (SAE members pay less.) For example, the revised standards for snowmobile switching devices cover standardized basic tests, test methods, and requirements applicable to electromechanical switching devices that may be used on snowmobiles as defined in SAE J33. Nonmembers can obtain the standards by fax, mail or download for $59. (Members for $47.20.)

If you want information about popular standards for ground vehicles, you'll find the Recommended Practice for Truck and Bus Control and Communications Network. These Recommended Practices are intended for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles used on or off road as well as appropriate stationary applications which use vehicle derived components (eg, generator sets). Vehicles of interest include, but are not limited to: on and off highway trucks and their trailers; construction equipment; and agricultural equipment and implements. The purpose of these Recommended Practices is to provide an open interconnect system for electronic systems. It is the intention of these Recommended Practices to allow Electronic Control Units to communicate with each other by providing a standard architecture. Obtaining these standards costs the same as the others; however, SAE offers a subscription plan that allows you to pay for just the documents that you need, when you need them.

There are many books available, covering topics including general reference, historical and technical topics and aerospace. The 2004 SAE Handbook includes the latest industry standards, passenger cars, construction equipment, motorcycles, trucks, buses, trailers, brakes, agricultural tractors, restraint systems, parts and components, emissions, fuels and lubricants, etc.

The Automotive Safety Handbook examines the state-of-the-art in passenger car vehicle safety. It contains details on accident avoidance, occupant protection, and biomechanics. The book also features thorough discussion of the interrelationships among the occupant, the vehicle, and the restraint system (in frontal, lateral, and rear impacts and rollover). Other subjects covered include safety legislation, vehicle body and interior design, accident simulation tests, pedestrian protection, and compatibility.

Books with technical topics include “Advanced Brake Technology,” which contains the latest and most relevant information concerning road vehicle brakes and brake systems. It is a collection of papers culled from the last 4 years of TMD Friction's Symposium, which annually brings together the world's top brake engineers in Bad Neuenahr, Germany. There are books on lighting technology, air bags, diesel engines, fuel cell systems and pedestrian safety.

SAE offers training and e-learning through webcasts, e-seminars, video tutorials, self-study and online courses.

SAE Telephone/Webcasts are 90-120 minute programs that focus on current and emerging technologies and the related issues, challenges and perspectives. A panel of subject matter experts sets the stage for engaging, interactive discussion with participants. E-seminars deliver classroom seminar content on CD-ROMs, featuring full-motion video illustrated with synchronized presentation slides. Preceded by a self-quiz, content is presented in modular topics that allow the student to progress through the course at their own pace. Navigation is granular to a slide, so revisiting a specific concept or using the table of contents to select a starting point is easy. Handout materials are included, making the e-seminar a complete ready-reference package, available whenever and wherever a refresher is needed. Students complete a self-quiz before taking the course and follow up by taking an online post-test to gauge new knowledge. Students also receive CEUs and an SAE certificate of completion.

SAE publishes three magazines: Automotive Engineering International, Aerospace Engineering and SAE Off-highway Engineering, as well as e-newsletters for which you must register.

If you are pursuing litigation involving any “self-propelled vehicle,” you can find useful information on the Web site of The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) www.sae.org.

SAE has more than 84,000 members ' engineers, business executives, educators, and students from more than 97 countries ' who share information and exchange ideas for advancing the engineering of mobility systems. It's a resource for standards development, events, and technical information and expertise used in designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for use on land or sea, in air or space.

SAE is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization. The engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles including automobiles, trucks and buses, off-highway equipment, aircraft, aerospace vehicles, marine, rail, and transit systems. SAE disseminates this information through its meetings, books, technical papers, magazines, standards, reports, professional development programs, and electronic databases.

You can research new, revised, and cancelled standards for Ground Vehicles, Aerospace and Aerospace Material Specifications, as well as look up popular standards that apply to those vehicles. The list of revised standards as of March 2004 included Revised Tests for Snowmobile Switching Devices and Components, Motorcycle Classifications, the Test Method for Determining Cold Cracking of Flexible Plastic Materials and the Automotive Ductile (Nodular) Iron Castings. There is a link to the documents describing the revisions and enabling the reader to purchase the standards. (SAE members pay less.) For example, the revised standards for snowmobile switching devices cover standardized basic tests, test methods, and requirements applicable to electromechanical switching devices that may be used on snowmobiles as defined in SAE J33. Nonmembers can obtain the standards by fax, mail or download for $59. (Members for $47.20.)

If you want information about popular standards for ground vehicles, you'll find the Recommended Practice for Truck and Bus Control and Communications Network. These Recommended Practices are intended for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles used on or off road as well as appropriate stationary applications which use vehicle derived components (eg, generator sets). Vehicles of interest include, but are not limited to: on and off highway trucks and their trailers; construction equipment; and agricultural equipment and implements. The purpose of these Recommended Practices is to provide an open interconnect system for electronic systems. It is the intention of these Recommended Practices to allow Electronic Control Units to communicate with each other by providing a standard architecture. Obtaining these standards costs the same as the others; however, SAE offers a subscription plan that allows you to pay for just the documents that you need, when you need them.

There are many books available, covering topics including general reference, historical and technical topics and aerospace. The 2004 SAE Handbook includes the latest industry standards, passenger cars, construction equipment, motorcycles, trucks, buses, trailers, brakes, agricultural tractors, restraint systems, parts and components, emissions, fuels and lubricants, etc.

The Automotive Safety Handbook examines the state-of-the-art in passenger car vehicle safety. It contains details on accident avoidance, occupant protection, and biomechanics. The book also features thorough discussion of the interrelationships among the occupant, the vehicle, and the restraint system (in frontal, lateral, and rear impacts and rollover). Other subjects covered include safety legislation, vehicle body and interior design, accident simulation tests, pedestrian protection, and compatibility.

Books with technical topics include “Advanced Brake Technology,” which contains the latest and most relevant information concerning road vehicle brakes and brake systems. It is a collection of papers culled from the last 4 years of TMD Friction's Symposium, which annually brings together the world's top brake engineers in Bad Neuenahr, Germany. There are books on lighting technology, air bags, diesel engines, fuel cell systems and pedestrian safety.

SAE offers training and e-learning through webcasts, e-seminars, video tutorials, self-study and online courses.

SAE Telephone/Webcasts are 90-120 minute programs that focus on current and emerging technologies and the related issues, challenges and perspectives. A panel of subject matter experts sets the stage for engaging, interactive discussion with participants. E-seminars deliver classroom seminar content on CD-ROMs, featuring full-motion video illustrated with synchronized presentation slides. Preceded by a self-quiz, content is presented in modular topics that allow the student to progress through the course at their own pace. Navigation is granular to a slide, so revisiting a specific concept or using the table of contents to select a starting point is easy. Handout materials are included, making the e-seminar a complete ready-reference package, available whenever and wherever a refresher is needed. Students complete a self-quiz before taking the course and follow up by taking an online post-test to gauge new knowledge. Students also receive CEUs and an SAE certificate of completion.

SAE publishes three magazines: Automotive Engineering International, Aerospace Engineering and SAE Off-highway Engineering, as well as e-newsletters for which you must register.