Skip to main content

Energy absorbing safety barrier

Barrier Systems says that its new tensioned barrier offers high energy absorbing capabilities in head-on collisions. The company says that this is because the X-Tension technology is a tension-based solution rather than compression-based. The new range delivers good performance in these applications, as energy is absorbed with resistance at the impact head rather than being transferred down the rail as occurs with other systems. Even high-angle (15° during testing) impacts on the nose resulted in the vehicl
March 9, 2012 Read time: 3 mins

165 Barrier Systems says that its new tensioned barrier offers high energy absorbing capabilities in head-on collisions.

The company says that this is because the X-Tension technology is a tension-based solution rather than compression-based. The new range delivers good performance in these applications, as energy is absorbed with resistance at the impact head rather than being transferred down the rail as occurs with other systems. Even high-angle (15° during testing) impacts on the nose resulted in the vehicle being redirected and controlled rather than passing to the backside of the terminal at high speed. For side impacts, tension in the rail is transferred by cables to the foundation anchor to provide containment and redirection.

The company also has an ABSORB 350 product that is non-redirective and is designed as a gating crash cushion. The system offers a reliable and easy method of protecting the ends of concrete barriers and can be attached to the end of permanent or portable concrete barriers, without the need to anchor the system to the roadway surface.

At 610mm wide, it is suited for narrow areas where road and workspace is limited. ABSORB 350 is easy to install and is easier to restore after an impact than other non-redirective, gating crash cushions. Tests show the product meets the rigorous requirements of NCHRP Report 350, Test Levels 2 (70 km/h) and 3 (100 km/h). This system is designed for use on narrow hazards for exits, wide medians, edge of road locations and locations.

Meanwhile the BarrierGuard 800 is a rapidly deployable Steel Safety Barrier for use in work zones or as a permanent installation. The system offers extremely attractive costs compared to portable concrete barrier since 180m can be delivered to a job site in one truck load. The system is also quick to assemble on site due to its connection system which uses only one bolt, allowing a crew of three to install up to 300m/hour. Featuring a step profile the barrier can redirect errant vehicles while causing little damage to either alnd also meets the tough NCHRP Report 350, Test Level 4.

Lastly, the firm's PaveGuard system offers continuous positive barrier protection during paving operations for workers, motorists and equipment. The system is on wheels and is pulled as the project advances and can be attached to a vehicle when it has to be moved. The system can be loaded and unloaded without the need for special equipment and does not require electrical power or sophisticated control systems.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Workzone safety protects workforce and drivers
    February 15, 2012
    Highway construction work zones are dangerous places, and anything that can improve safety is welcomed as Patrick Smith reports. The safe and efficient flow of traffic through work zones is a major concern to transportation officials, industry, the public, businesses, and commercial motor carriers. This is the view of the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which has developed the Highway Work Zone Safety Program to reduce the fatalities and injurious crashes in work zones, and to enhance traffic oper
  • Eradicating work zone danger
    June 26, 2013
    New safety systems for highway work zones are helping to reduce deaths and injuries in the United States, while much work is being done in Europe to improve work zone safety. Guy Woodford reports. With more road building underway than at any one time in Texas history, the US Lone Star state’s Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is introducing its first highway safety system with queue-warning technology and temporary rumble strips to cut work zone collisions. Debuting along a central Texas stretch of the
  • Lindsay moveable barrier system earns MASH approval in the US
    May 14, 2018
    Lindsay Transportation Solutions has announced that its QuickChange Moveable Barrier Concrete Reactive Tension System (QMB-CRTS) has earned MASH approval. The system meets crash test and evaluation criteria contained in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). MASH is the new standard for the crash-testing of safety devices for use on the National Highway System. It updates and replaces NCHRP Report 350. “We are pleased to inform
  • A further crash test has been performed on SMA’s End Terminal
    July 5, 2016
    The latest crash test for the end terminal T4, made by SMA – Safety Modular Absorber - has been carried out to the EN 1317-7 standard. It was done in addition to the complete set of crash tests performed according to part 7 of the EN 1317. The test TT 6.3.110 had already been executed on the critical impact point selected by the CSI TestLab. SMA Road Safety said it shows “the excellence of the SMA end terminal to absorb the impacts coming from the opposite traffic direction”. The critical impact point is at