Skip to main content

Report into passively safe lighting columns

Lighting columns and other roadside structures such as overhead gantries play an essential role in road safety, by improving night time visibility or giving information to drivers. However old generation units themselves pose a potential hazard as they can be impacted by vehicles departing the roadway and potentially with fatal results in the event of a high speed crash. This is why newer passively safe columns have been developed, which are designed to collapse in a controlled fashion when impacted, reduci
November 16, 2015 Read time: 1 min

Lighting columns and other roadside structures such as overhead gantries play an essential role in road safety, by improving night time visibility or giving information to drivers. However old generation units themselves pose a potential hazard as they can be impacted by vehicles departing the roadway and potentially with fatal results in the event of a high speed crash. This is why newer passively safe columns have been developed, which are designed to collapse in a controlled fashion when impacted, reducing the risk of death or injury to vehicle occupants.

This paper investigates some of the key issues for passively safe columns. Click here to view more.

Related Content

  • Research shows male drivers more likely to overtake rashly
    July 1, 2013
    A new survey carried out in the UK reveals that male drivers are more likely to risk lives by overtaking blind and speeding on rural roads. As a result male drivers are being urged to be more careful. The survey was carried out jointly by safety body Brake and insurance firm Direct Line. The data reveals that 24% of drivers risk catastrophic head-on crashes by overtaking blind, while 44% admit speeding at over the national speed limit of 96km/h (60mph) on rural roads. Men are much more likely to take these
  • Research shows male drivers more likely to overtake rashly
    April 12, 2013
    A new survey carried out in the UK reveals that male drivers are more likely to risk lives by overtaking blind and speeding on rural roads. As a result male drivers are being urged to be more careful. The survey was carried out jointly by safety body Brake and insurance firm Direct Line. The data reveals that 24% risk catastrophic head-on crashes by overtaking blind, while 44% admit speeding at over the national speed limit of 96km/h (60mph) on rural roads. Men are much more likely to take these deadly risk
  • Crash barriers aid vehicle protection, road safety
    February 8, 2012
    Barrier and crash cushion systems can make a great deal of difference to roadway safety, with new technology offering major benefits to road users. In North America and Western Europe, concrete centre line dividers are being used for many major highways as these provide a durable solution for preventing cross-over accidents with large vehicles such as heavy trucks. It is worth noting too that other countries are now adopting concrete barriers for highway centre line dividers also, with this system being use
  • Road safety gain for UK in 2013
    June 26, 2014
    The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) reveals that the road fatality rate for 2013 was the lowest since records began in 1926. The data shows that 1,713 people died on the UK’s road network in 2013, around half that of the figure recorded for the year 2000. This reveals an on-going improvement in road safety levels. The DfT statistics show that in 2013, 21,657 people were seriously injured in road crashes, while the total number of casualties of all severities stood at 183,670. Car occupant fatalities in