Citation

Marquis EL, Hirsch TJ, Nixon JF. Transp. Res. Rec. 1976; 566: 69-79.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1976, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Many rigid obstacles located on highways cannot be removed or made to break away and consequently are hazardous to motorists. Vehicle impact attenuators have been developed to protect the public from these obstacles. Most of these attenuators are expensive, and some obstacles remain unprotected since available funds are directed to protecting more cost-effective locations. An inexpensive vehicle impact attenuator composed of scrap tires and sand has been developed and tested at the Texas Transportation Institute. This inertia barrier uses a base that is crushable, plywood disks, scrap tires, sand, and a weatherproof covering. The principle of the conservation of momentum is used in the design. In addition, curves have been developed to assist the designer.