The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1982 Dodge Colt and a sli... more The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1982 Dodge Colt and a slipbase luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the pole at 20.8 mph (33.5 km/h) on the driver's side door. The impact location was aligned with the side impact dummy's shoulder with the seat in the midtrack position. This test is a repeat of Test 4 except that the bolt clamping force was reduced from 14 to 6 kips. Unlike the Test 4 case, lockup did not occur. Damage to the side structure of the vehicle was less severe. The maximum crush was 10 in. (254 mm) in this test, compared with 18.8 in. (477.5 mm) of crush in the lockup test (Test 4). The comparable Enquist-Svensen-Vanke (ESV) pole test (Test 2) resulted in a vehicular crush of 9.0 in. (229 cm). The Head Injury Criteria (HIC) and the Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) values were not obtainable in this test due to failure of the d...
This report contains the results of a frontal impact crash test involving a Volkswagen (VW) Rabbi... more This report contains the results of a frontal impact crash test involving a Volkswagen (VW) Rabbit and an energy dissipating Enquist-Svensen-Vanke (ESV) luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the ESV pole at 20 mph (32 km/h) on the front bumper. The impact location was aligned at the middle of the front bumper. The test data indicate that the hypothetical driver of this vehicle would be subjected to acceptably low values of impact velocity with the vehicle interior and ridedown accelerations. This test suggests the ESV pole meets both the AASHTO and NCHRP criteria for 20 mph (32.2 km/h) impacts with luminaire supports.
Engineering 21st Century Highways, Conference, 1988, San Francisco, California, USA, Apr 1, 1989
A great deal has occurred in the highway safety field in the last 15 years: there have been socie... more A great deal has occurred in the highway safety field in the last 15 years: there have been societal changes which have altered the character of the vehicle fleet; there have been technological changes which have resulted in new safety hardware, new types of vehicle structures, and better accident data; and lastly, there have been philosophical changes which have resulted in new concepts for designing and warranting roadside safety hardware. The following paper examines these issues and suggests areas which should be addressed by researchers, practitioners and policy makers as the next century approaches.
The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Honda Civic and an e... more The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Honda Civic and an energy dissipating Enquist-Svensen-Vanke (ESV) luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the ESV pole at 29.9 mph (48.1 km/h) on the driver's side door. The impact location was aligned with the side impact dummy's shoulder with the seat in the midtrack position. The purpose of this test was to investigate the effect of this door structure on the impact response of the dummy, vehicle, and pole for a 30 mph (48.3 km/h) impact. Unfortunately, the ESV pole in this test was defective, and fracture occurred at its base. Because of the fracture failure, it is inappropraite to directly compare the results of this test to those of Tests 1 and 2. It is of interest to note, however, that the head of the dummy was only subjected to a glancing blow from the pole and both the Head Injury Criteri...
The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Plymouth Champ and a... more The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Plymouth Champ and a slipbase luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the pole at 18.9 mph (30.4 km/h) on the driver's side door. The impact location was aligned with the side impact dummy's shoulder with the seat in the midtrack position. Earlier FOIL side impact tests were conducted at a nominal impact speed of 30 mph (48.3 km/h). In Test 4, the same slipbase used in these tests was retested with the same 14 kip (62.3 kN) bolt clamping load but at a lower impact speed. This combination of high clamping force and low impact speed resulted in system lockup. The slipbase mechanism did not release and the resulting damage to the side structure of the automobile was quite extensive. The Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) for this test was an acceptable 82 g's, but the calculated Head Injury Criteria (HIC...
Reducing the severity of side impact collisions has been an emerging area of research during the ... more Reducing the severity of side impact collisions has been an emerging area of research during the past decade by a variety of organizations and research communities. The motor vehicle manufacturing and regulatory communities in both the United States, Europe and many other countries have developed dynamic side impact test and evaluation criteria to reduce the severity of vehicle-to-vehicle side impact collisions. Similarly, the international research community has developed test procedures for performing impacts into poles, one of the most severe types of side impact collisions. This paper presents preliminary side impact test and evaluation procedures for roadside safety hardware like guardrails, guardrail terminals, luminaire supports, utility poles and signs. The purpose of this paper is to summarize recommendations for performing roadside hardware side impact crash tests, describe the results of several side impact roadside hardware crash tests, compare the proposed test and eval...
Efforts to improve roadside safety have had a dramatic effect on the number of fatalities resulti... more Efforts to improve roadside safety have had a dramatic effect on the number of fatalities resulting from automobile accidents during the past 30 years. The 1966 annual traffic fatality rate of 5.5 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled dropped to 1.7 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1993. This was achieved through a dedicated effort by every segment of the highway transportation industry, including the roadside design community. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Transportation Research Board, the states, and others have undertaken a variety of research activities to improve roadside safety. These activities include analyzing accident trends, formulating improved analysis procedures, developing new hardware, and promoting a sounder base of accident information. To further improve roadside safety all these efforts should be continued, but attention should also be devoted to a number of...
This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, tr... more This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, traffic, structural, maintenance, and research engineers and others concerned with highway safety issues. This synthesis describes the current state of the practice for the use of guardrails and median barriers and their crashworthiness. It includes information about the crashworthiness and typical applications of the most common, permanently installed, nonproprietary guardrail and median barrier systems used in the United States today. A significant amount of detail is included in the text to aid the design, selection, and locating processes for safe and effective guardrails and median barriers. The report presents data obtained from a review of the literature and a survey of state DOTs. The synthesis presents a description of the typical longitudinal barriers in use today, including drawings, the extent of their use, and the most recent testing on each guardrail and barrier system, with particular emphasis on NCHRP Report 230 and 350 requirements. In addition, it discusses the maintenance issues, cost constraints, and common problems with each type of barrier. The synthesis only discusses the crashworthiness of guardrails and median barriers; their transitions and terminals are not discussed.
Side impact accidents account for approximately 8,000 fatalities in passenger cars each year in t... more Side impact accidents account for approximately 8,000 fatalities in passenger cars each year in the United States. This represents more than one third of the approximately 25,000 passenger car fatalities that occur each year. Side impact is, therefore, a significant problem in transportation safety. This presentation will examine some of the characteristics of side impact accidents derived from the Nattional Accident Sampling System and Fatal Accident Reporting System data.
This Circular contains the proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the Transportation Research Boa... more This Circular contains the proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee A1A04 on Roadside Safety Features and the Federal Highway Administration. The workshop was held January 13-14, 1991, in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Breakout Group 4 included representatives from Spain, the United States, the Netherlands, England, Canada, and Australia. The following discussion topics were addressed by all of the Breakout Groups: (1) Critical differences in test and evaluation philosophies; (2) Specific national conditions that may affect test and evaluation philosophies and procedures; (3) Impediments to a common measurement framework or methods to translate the results for comparison; and (4) Steps needed to increase harmonization.
This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require... more This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require additional technical research. This report deals with five broad areas of concern: (1) the importance and effect of soil conditions on the dynamic performance of barriers, (2) methods for re-evaluating pre-Report 230 test results in light of the current Report 230 criteria, (3) linking the occupant risk factor to "real-world" accident cases, (4) assessing the potential hazards of the redirected vehicle, and (5) replacement of the 4500-lb test car.
This report contains a summary of 12 side impact crash tests performed at the Federal Outdoor Imp... more This report contains a summary of 12 side impact crash tests performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) to evaluate the performance of several types of roadside structures. The tests are described and results presented. The results of these tests are then combined with earlier test series and statistical models that predict dummy responses from test results are developed. These preliminary models could be used to evaluate the risk to occupants based on the response of hypothetical anthropometric dummies.
This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require... more This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require additional technical research. This report deals with five broad areas of concern: (1) the importance and effect of soil conditions on the dynamic performance of barriers, (2) methods for re-evaluating pre-Report 230 test results in light of the current Report 230 criteria, (3) linking the occupant risk factor to "real-world" accident cases, (4) assessing the potential hazards of the redirected vehicle, and (5) replacement of the 4500-lb test car.
This paper summarizes the findings of the 1995 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee A2A0... more This paper summarizes the findings of the 1995 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee A2A04 Workshop, which brought together transportation professionals to discuss the current status of roadside safety research and explore new approaches and methods that could produce safety benefits in the coming decade. Following introductory comments on the need for and purpose of the meeting, each of the five discussion and work groups (which were formed following invited presentations) is summarized. The work groups were as follows: (A) Development of a Strategic Plan for Roadside Safety; (B) Severity Indices Development; (C) Vehicle Fleet Characteristics, ITS Research Needs, Driver Behavior, Accident Data Collection and Analysis Research Needs; (D) Crash Testing and Simulation Research Needs; and (E) In-Service Evaluation and Barrier Performance Research Needs. The fifteen research needs statements identified by the discussion groups and their rankings by attendees are presented in a t...
This paper present · detail of proposed improvemcnl~ to the way that fullcale crash test data are... more This paper present · detail of proposed improvemcnl~ to the way that fullcale crash test data are analyzed. In particular, the basic form_ulation of the Dail space method presented in NCHRP Report 230 is shown to contain several simplifications that have never before been examined in detail. The NCHRP Report 230 formul~tion a.nd its .history are briefly reviewed, followed by an extensive discussion of improvements that would make the Dail space method more physically correct and more general. The potential ourcc. and magni.tude of error in the current model are explored, and new techmques a1·e de ·cribcd . Examples μsing actual crash te t data are provided to illustrate typical magnitudes of error associated with each simplilication. A computer program is briefly described that implements these improvements.
The history of public domain finite element models of the side impact anthropometric test dummy a... more The history of public domain finite element models of the side impact anthropometric test dummy are summarized and recent improvements are briefly discussed. The performance of the two most recent finite element models are discussed with respect to the predictions of acceleration time histories as compared to standard bench calibration tests as well as an in-vehicle full-scale vehicle crash test. The thoracic trauma indices and the maximum pelvis accelerations are calculated based on the finite element models and are compared to the results obtained in physical calibration tests. The responses and fidelity of the finite element models are discussed and recommendations for further improvements are provided. NOTATION LURY maximum lateral acceleration observed at the left upper rib LLRY maximum lateral acceleration observed at the left lower rib TTI thoracic trauma index T12 maximum lateral acceleration observed at the 12 th spine segment Py maximum lateral pelvis acceleration
This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, tr... more This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, traffic, structural, maintenance, and research engineers and others concerned with highway safety issues. This synthesis describes the current state of the practice for the use of guardrails and median barriers and their crashworthiness. It includes information about the crashworthiness and typical applications of the most common, permanently installed, nonproprietary guardrail and median barrier systems used in the United States today. A significant amount of detail is included in the text to aid the design, selection, and locating processes for safe and effective guardrails and median barriers. The report presents data obtained from a review of the literature and a survey of state DOTs. The synthesis presents a description of the typical longitudinal barriers in use today, including drawings, the extent of their use, and the most recent testing on each guardrail and barrier system, with ...
The metrication of roadside hardware is detailed in the revised edition of the "Guide to Sta... more The metrication of roadside hardware is detailed in the revised edition of the "Guide to Standardized Highway Barrier Rail Hardware." This article highlights the most important recommendations regarding specifications, guardrails, bridge railings, and concrete median barriers. The most useful feature of the new guide is the exclusive use of the International System of Units (SI)--a modernized metric system, which will be an invaluable resource to states in the process of converting their roadside hardware standards to SI prior to the September 30, 1996, deadline.
The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1982 Dodge Colt and a sli... more The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1982 Dodge Colt and a slipbase luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the pole at 20.8 mph (33.5 km/h) on the driver's side door. The impact location was aligned with the side impact dummy's shoulder with the seat in the midtrack position. This test is a repeat of Test 4 except that the bolt clamping force was reduced from 14 to 6 kips. Unlike the Test 4 case, lockup did not occur. Damage to the side structure of the vehicle was less severe. The maximum crush was 10 in. (254 mm) in this test, compared with 18.8 in. (477.5 mm) of crush in the lockup test (Test 4). The comparable Enquist-Svensen-Vanke (ESV) pole test (Test 2) resulted in a vehicular crush of 9.0 in. (229 cm). The Head Injury Criteria (HIC) and the Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) values were not obtainable in this test due to failure of the d...
This report contains the results of a frontal impact crash test involving a Volkswagen (VW) Rabbi... more This report contains the results of a frontal impact crash test involving a Volkswagen (VW) Rabbit and an energy dissipating Enquist-Svensen-Vanke (ESV) luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the ESV pole at 20 mph (32 km/h) on the front bumper. The impact location was aligned at the middle of the front bumper. The test data indicate that the hypothetical driver of this vehicle would be subjected to acceptably low values of impact velocity with the vehicle interior and ridedown accelerations. This test suggests the ESV pole meets both the AASHTO and NCHRP criteria for 20 mph (32.2 km/h) impacts with luminaire supports.
Engineering 21st Century Highways, Conference, 1988, San Francisco, California, USA, Apr 1, 1989
A great deal has occurred in the highway safety field in the last 15 years: there have been socie... more A great deal has occurred in the highway safety field in the last 15 years: there have been societal changes which have altered the character of the vehicle fleet; there have been technological changes which have resulted in new safety hardware, new types of vehicle structures, and better accident data; and lastly, there have been philosophical changes which have resulted in new concepts for designing and warranting roadside safety hardware. The following paper examines these issues and suggests areas which should be addressed by researchers, practitioners and policy makers as the next century approaches.
The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Honda Civic and an e... more The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Honda Civic and an energy dissipating Enquist-Svensen-Vanke (ESV) luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the ESV pole at 29.9 mph (48.1 km/h) on the driver's side door. The impact location was aligned with the side impact dummy's shoulder with the seat in the midtrack position. The purpose of this test was to investigate the effect of this door structure on the impact response of the dummy, vehicle, and pole for a 30 mph (48.3 km/h) impact. Unfortunately, the ESV pole in this test was defective, and fracture occurred at its base. Because of the fracture failure, it is inappropraite to directly compare the results of this test to those of Tests 1 and 2. It is of interest to note, however, that the head of the dummy was only subjected to a glancing blow from the pole and both the Head Injury Criteri...
The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Plymouth Champ and a... more The report contains the results of a side impact crash test involving a 1984 Plymouth Champ and a slipbase luminaire support. The test was performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, Virginia. The automobile impacted the pole at 18.9 mph (30.4 km/h) on the driver's side door. The impact location was aligned with the side impact dummy's shoulder with the seat in the midtrack position. Earlier FOIL side impact tests were conducted at a nominal impact speed of 30 mph (48.3 km/h). In Test 4, the same slipbase used in these tests was retested with the same 14 kip (62.3 kN) bolt clamping load but at a lower impact speed. This combination of high clamping force and low impact speed resulted in system lockup. The slipbase mechanism did not release and the resulting damage to the side structure of the automobile was quite extensive. The Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) for this test was an acceptable 82 g's, but the calculated Head Injury Criteria (HIC...
Reducing the severity of side impact collisions has been an emerging area of research during the ... more Reducing the severity of side impact collisions has been an emerging area of research during the past decade by a variety of organizations and research communities. The motor vehicle manufacturing and regulatory communities in both the United States, Europe and many other countries have developed dynamic side impact test and evaluation criteria to reduce the severity of vehicle-to-vehicle side impact collisions. Similarly, the international research community has developed test procedures for performing impacts into poles, one of the most severe types of side impact collisions. This paper presents preliminary side impact test and evaluation procedures for roadside safety hardware like guardrails, guardrail terminals, luminaire supports, utility poles and signs. The purpose of this paper is to summarize recommendations for performing roadside hardware side impact crash tests, describe the results of several side impact roadside hardware crash tests, compare the proposed test and eval...
Efforts to improve roadside safety have had a dramatic effect on the number of fatalities resulti... more Efforts to improve roadside safety have had a dramatic effect on the number of fatalities resulting from automobile accidents during the past 30 years. The 1966 annual traffic fatality rate of 5.5 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled dropped to 1.7 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1993. This was achieved through a dedicated effort by every segment of the highway transportation industry, including the roadside design community. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Transportation Research Board, the states, and others have undertaken a variety of research activities to improve roadside safety. These activities include analyzing accident trends, formulating improved analysis procedures, developing new hardware, and promoting a sounder base of accident information. To further improve roadside safety all these efforts should be continued, but attention should also be devoted to a number of...
This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, tr... more This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, traffic, structural, maintenance, and research engineers and others concerned with highway safety issues. This synthesis describes the current state of the practice for the use of guardrails and median barriers and their crashworthiness. It includes information about the crashworthiness and typical applications of the most common, permanently installed, nonproprietary guardrail and median barrier systems used in the United States today. A significant amount of detail is included in the text to aid the design, selection, and locating processes for safe and effective guardrails and median barriers. The report presents data obtained from a review of the literature and a survey of state DOTs. The synthesis presents a description of the typical longitudinal barriers in use today, including drawings, the extent of their use, and the most recent testing on each guardrail and barrier system, with particular emphasis on NCHRP Report 230 and 350 requirements. In addition, it discusses the maintenance issues, cost constraints, and common problems with each type of barrier. The synthesis only discusses the crashworthiness of guardrails and median barriers; their transitions and terminals are not discussed.
Side impact accidents account for approximately 8,000 fatalities in passenger cars each year in t... more Side impact accidents account for approximately 8,000 fatalities in passenger cars each year in the United States. This represents more than one third of the approximately 25,000 passenger car fatalities that occur each year. Side impact is, therefore, a significant problem in transportation safety. This presentation will examine some of the characteristics of side impact accidents derived from the Nattional Accident Sampling System and Fatal Accident Reporting System data.
This Circular contains the proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the Transportation Research Boa... more This Circular contains the proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee A1A04 on Roadside Safety Features and the Federal Highway Administration. The workshop was held January 13-14, 1991, in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Breakout Group 4 included representatives from Spain, the United States, the Netherlands, England, Canada, and Australia. The following discussion topics were addressed by all of the Breakout Groups: (1) Critical differences in test and evaluation philosophies; (2) Specific national conditions that may affect test and evaluation philosophies and procedures; (3) Impediments to a common measurement framework or methods to translate the results for comparison; and (4) Steps needed to increase harmonization.
This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require... more This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require additional technical research. This report deals with five broad areas of concern: (1) the importance and effect of soil conditions on the dynamic performance of barriers, (2) methods for re-evaluating pre-Report 230 test results in light of the current Report 230 criteria, (3) linking the occupant risk factor to "real-world" accident cases, (4) assessing the potential hazards of the redirected vehicle, and (5) replacement of the 4500-lb test car.
This report contains a summary of 12 side impact crash tests performed at the Federal Outdoor Imp... more This report contains a summary of 12 side impact crash tests performed at the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) to evaluate the performance of several types of roadside structures. The tests are described and results presented. The results of these tests are then combined with earlier test series and statistical models that predict dummy responses from test results are developed. These preliminary models could be used to evaluate the risk to occupants based on the response of hypothetical anthropometric dummies.
This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require... more This research was conducted to identify and investigate aspects of NCHRP Report 230 which require additional technical research. This report deals with five broad areas of concern: (1) the importance and effect of soil conditions on the dynamic performance of barriers, (2) methods for re-evaluating pre-Report 230 test results in light of the current Report 230 criteria, (3) linking the occupant risk factor to "real-world" accident cases, (4) assessing the potential hazards of the redirected vehicle, and (5) replacement of the 4500-lb test car.
This paper summarizes the findings of the 1995 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee A2A0... more This paper summarizes the findings of the 1995 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee A2A04 Workshop, which brought together transportation professionals to discuss the current status of roadside safety research and explore new approaches and methods that could produce safety benefits in the coming decade. Following introductory comments on the need for and purpose of the meeting, each of the five discussion and work groups (which were formed following invited presentations) is summarized. The work groups were as follows: (A) Development of a Strategic Plan for Roadside Safety; (B) Severity Indices Development; (C) Vehicle Fleet Characteristics, ITS Research Needs, Driver Behavior, Accident Data Collection and Analysis Research Needs; (D) Crash Testing and Simulation Research Needs; and (E) In-Service Evaluation and Barrier Performance Research Needs. The fifteen research needs statements identified by the discussion groups and their rankings by attendees are presented in a t...
This paper present · detail of proposed improvemcnl~ to the way that fullcale crash test data are... more This paper present · detail of proposed improvemcnl~ to the way that fullcale crash test data are analyzed. In particular, the basic form_ulation of the Dail space method presented in NCHRP Report 230 is shown to contain several simplifications that have never before been examined in detail. The NCHRP Report 230 formul~tion a.nd its .history are briefly reviewed, followed by an extensive discussion of improvements that would make the Dail space method more physically correct and more general. The potential ourcc. and magni.tude of error in the current model are explored, and new techmques a1·e de ·cribcd . Examples μsing actual crash te t data are provided to illustrate typical magnitudes of error associated with each simplilication. A computer program is briefly described that implements these improvements.
The history of public domain finite element models of the side impact anthropometric test dummy a... more The history of public domain finite element models of the side impact anthropometric test dummy are summarized and recent improvements are briefly discussed. The performance of the two most recent finite element models are discussed with respect to the predictions of acceleration time histories as compared to standard bench calibration tests as well as an in-vehicle full-scale vehicle crash test. The thoracic trauma indices and the maximum pelvis accelerations are calculated based on the finite element models and are compared to the results obtained in physical calibration tests. The responses and fidelity of the finite element models are discussed and recommendations for further improvements are provided. NOTATION LURY maximum lateral acceleration observed at the left upper rib LLRY maximum lateral acceleration observed at the left lower rib TTI thoracic trauma index T12 maximum lateral acceleration observed at the 12 th spine segment Py maximum lateral pelvis acceleration
This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, tr... more This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) roadway design, traffic, structural, maintenance, and research engineers and others concerned with highway safety issues. This synthesis describes the current state of the practice for the use of guardrails and median barriers and their crashworthiness. It includes information about the crashworthiness and typical applications of the most common, permanently installed, nonproprietary guardrail and median barrier systems used in the United States today. A significant amount of detail is included in the text to aid the design, selection, and locating processes for safe and effective guardrails and median barriers. The report presents data obtained from a review of the literature and a survey of state DOTs. The synthesis presents a description of the typical longitudinal barriers in use today, including drawings, the extent of their use, and the most recent testing on each guardrail and barrier system, with ...
The metrication of roadside hardware is detailed in the revised edition of the "Guide to Sta... more The metrication of roadside hardware is detailed in the revised edition of the "Guide to Standardized Highway Barrier Rail Hardware." This article highlights the most important recommendations regarding specifications, guardrails, bridge railings, and concrete median barriers. The most useful feature of the new guide is the exclusive use of the International System of Units (SI)--a modernized metric system, which will be an invaluable resource to states in the process of converting their roadside hardware standards to SI prior to the September 30, 1996, deadline.
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