Citation

Dobrovolny CS, Shi S, Bligh RP, Menges WL, Kuhn DL. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2019; 29(5): 29-36.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Roadside safety devices serve to protect drivers from roadside hazards and, ultimately, reduce roadway departure crash injuries and fatalities. A portable concrete barrier (PCB) is one roadside safety device that can contain and redirect an impacting vehicle, but its ability to do so can be influenced by such factors as height and profile. This project focuses on the design of a Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware Test Level-3 (MASH TL-3) low-profile barrier for high speed applications and the evaluation of its safety performance. Two crash tests were performed according to the MASH TL-3 guidelines: one featuring a 1100C vehicle and one featuring a 2270P vehicle. Both impacted the barrier at a target impact speed of 62 mi/h and impact angle of 25 degrees. The article details the test installation; the test requirements and evaluation criteria; the test conditions; the test vehicles; weather conditions; and impact conditions for each crash test. The study findings show that the TL-3 Low-Profile Barrier performed acceptably as a MASH TL-3 longitudinal barrier.

Language: en

Keywords

Evaluation and assessment; Speed; Traffic safety; Texas; Crashworthiness; Barriers (Roads); Structural design; AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware; Crash tests; Texas Department of Transportation; Roadside structures