STUDY OF BOX-BEAM MEDIAN BARRIER ACCIDENTS

STUDY WAS PERFORMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A NEWLY INSTALLED BOX-BEAM MEDIAN BARRIER WITH RESPECT TO ITS ABILITY TO SUSTAIN VEHICLE DAMAGES AND PREVENT MEDIAN CROSSINGS. APPROXIMATELY 9.4 MILES OF BOX BEAM MEDIAN BARRIER WAS INSPECTED MONTHLY FOR A 12-MONTH PERIOD AND DAMAGES WERE CLASSIFIED AND RECORDED. OF THE 204 DAMAGES RECORDED, 153 (75 PERCENT) WERE CLASSIFIED AS MINOR, 41 (20 PERCENT) MEDIUM, AND 10 (15 PERCENT) MAJOR, ONE OF WHICH WAS A BREAKTHROUGH. THE DAMAGES SUSTAINED BY THE BOX-BEAM BARRIER REFLECT ITS DESIGN CONCEPT, I.E., STRONG RAIL AND WEAK POSTS. EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT OF ALL THE BOX-BEAM DAMAGES WERE NOT REPORTED TO THE POLICE, INDICATING THAT MOTORISTS WHO HIT THE BOX-BEAM BARRIER WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THEIR VEHICLES AND CONTINUE ON THEIR TRIPS. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr107/107-014.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Research Board (HRB)

  Washington, DC   
• Authors:
  • Galati, Joseph V
• Conference:
  • Second Western Summer Meeting
  • Location: Salt Lake City Utah, United States
  • Date: 1969-8-11 to 1969-8-13
• Publication Date: 1970

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 133-39
• Monograph Title: Highway safety
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 107
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Box beams; Evaluation; Median barriers; Motor vehicles; Prevention; Safety; Shock resistance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Impact strength
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203463
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 8 1973 12:00AM