Impact tests on vehicle restraint systems and development of retrofit solutions

The purpose of road restraint systems is to stop a vehicle from leaving the road. According to their performance, they are installed in various areas on federal highways. However, some of the (older) systems installed in Germany have not yet been subjected to impact testing or have only been tested on the basis of draft standards. In addition, weaknesses have been found in practice, e.g. in the form of posts that come loose on impact or corroded reinforcement in in-situ concrete barriers. The Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) therefore carried out impact tests on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), which, in addition to impact tests on road restraint systems that had not been tested to date and were used as special solutions, included retrofit solutions for existing systems and newly developed systems. On the one hand, one aim was to guarantee or restore the containment capability of these systems and, on the other hand, to have tested systems for those places in practice where none had existed before.

The results of the present study are considered to be an essential contribution to improving the safety of road restraint systems in the long term. The test reports of the impact tests are published on the BASt website and can be accessed by all interested parties. They can provide a sound basis for own developments or certifications.