VEHICLE BEHAVIOR UNDER REAL CONDITIONS AT IMPACT-ATTENUATION DEVICES

Attempts were made to photograph contact and near-miss situations at impact-attenuation devices under real conditions. Still-frame 35-mm camers with automatic exposure control and heated magazines were employed. Magnetometers were used as sensing elements to actuate the camers. The system was designed so that the camera motor would run continuously to reduce lag time between trip signal and first exposure to 25 milliseconds. Failure in the camers gear train and extremely high rates of false alarms at the sites under surveillance, were prime reasons for early cancellation of the project. It is recommended that a video type system with continuous exposure and erasure be employed in future surveillance projects of this nature. In this case, the system would shut down on vehicle contact with the impact attenuator. /FHWA/

• Corporate Authors:

  Connecticut Department of Transportation

  Bureau of Planning and Research, 24 Wolcott Hill Road
  Wethersfield, CT  United States  06109

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Bowers, D G
• Publication Date: 1975-6

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 21 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash cushions; Failure; Photographic equipment; Photography; Surveys; Vehicle performance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Photographic surveys
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00130581
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-RD-75-S0407 Final Rpt.
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 29 1976 12:00AM