Skip to main content

Crash cushions EU compliant

In January 2011 it became a legal requirement for all crash cushions sold in the EU to carry the CE Mark, the symbol of conformity to European Directives.
February 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

In January 2011 it became a legal requirement for all crash cushions sold in the EU to carry the CE Mark, the symbol of conformity to European Directives.

This can only be applied to a road restraint system once the manufacturer has undergone a rigorous process of checks and inspections from a relevant Notified Body. A manufacturer cannot simply add a sticker with a CE logo to its product.
As part of the CE certification process, the manufacturer must produce a comprehensive technical file for the product, including the initial testing details and test reports. The Notified Body ensures that the product is correctly qualified and meets the requirements of EN 1317.  
Also as part of this process, the Notified Body will make a factory production control inspection when the manufacturing facility, quality control procedures and monitoring processes are all examined.
The manufacturer and its products must meet the exacting standards set out in EN 1317-5 to ensure that the products are compliant and those coming out of the factory are consistent and manufactured to the same standards and specifications as the original product that successfully performed the initial EN 1317 testing.
Once the Notified Body is satisfied that all necessary requirements have been met it will issue a Certificate of Conformity, and only then can a manufacturer apply the CE Mark to its products. The CE label will show the product’s Certificate Number, the Notified Body’s ID number and a summary of what the product has qualified to and its performance levels.

Related Content

  • Czech republic needs more investment in road safety
    July 11, 2012
    In 2001, the European Commission set the ambitious goal of halving the deaths on Europe's roads by 2010. While significant progress has been made over the years, it is clear that only a few countries are expected to reach this target. More needs to be done! The Brussels Programme Centre of the International Road Federation (IRF BPC®), as a signatory to the European Road Safety Charter, has over the years been actively involved in the efforts to improve road safety and reduce fatalities.
  • Reducing asphalt plant downtime
    December 12, 2018
    How asphalt plant control add-ons make operation easier while reducing costly downtime - *Carlos Cardenas The word downtime might as well be a curse word in the asphalt production industry. As any operator will say, unplanned plant shutdowns can end up costing a producer heavily in lost production, not to mention a line of unhappy truck drivers and asphalt customers. The key is to get ahead of the problem and spot issues before they skyrocket in severity. Fortunately, some asphalt plant manufacturers offe
  • Ammann pushes the utilisation rate of recycled asphalt even higher
    December 16, 2016
    The Ammann team was confident it had a game-changer on its stand when the 2007 bauma exhibition opened in Munich. The company’s RAH100 asphalt dryer was about to take a massive step forward for the global highway industry – and to lead the market for years to come Ammann’s RAH100 wasn’t a simple upgrade of an existing product. It was much bigger than that. The dryer offered the ability to utilise 100% recycled asphalt … a benefit no other competitor could match. “That 100% utilisation rate was a miles
  • Caterpillar Paving offers a guide to efficient night time paving practices
    October 3, 2014
    Efficient night-time paving operations can reduce construction costs and cut traffic delays - *Todd Mansell writes As roads become more congested, the user cost of daytime lane closures to accommodate road construction and paving has increased dramatically. One solution to lower user costs associated with traffic delays is to carry out more paving at night during off-peak times. However night-time paving brings new challenges to producing quality work in safely.