EVALUATION OF BREAKAWAY LIGHT POLES FOR USE IN HIGHWAY MEDIANS

CRASH TESTS WERE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT BEHAVIOR OF MEDIANMOUNTED LIGHT POLES AND SECONDARY COLLISIONS OF VEHICLES STRIKING DOWNED POLES ON A TRAFFIC LANE. A RELATIVE HAZARD INDEX WAS DEVELOPED TO DESCRIBE THE RELATIVE HAZARD CREATED BY THE PROXIMITY AND FREQUENCY OF LIGHT POLES. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT A 20-DEG IMPACT BY A 2,900-LB VEHICLE AT 45 MPH WOULD NOT CAUSE A POLE TO ENCROACH ON THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANE IF THE MEDIAN IS 40 FT WIDE. A 4,000-LB VEHICLE IMPACTING AT 25 DEG AND 60 MPH WOULD CAUSE A POLE TO ENCROACH APPROXIMATELY 11 FT INTO THE OPPOSING LANE. UNDER BOTH CONDITIONS, THE IMPACTING VEHICLE WOULD CROSS INTO THE OPPOSING LANES AND MIGHT BE MORE OF A HAZARD THAN THE POLES THEMSELVES. A MEDIUM-SIZED VEHICLE IMPACTING A DOWNED POLE WITHIN THE TRAFFIC LANE PRESENTS NO MORE HAZARD THAN THE ORIGINAL IMPACT. FROM A RELATIVE HAZARD STANDPOINT, MEDIANMOUNTED LUMINAIRE SYSTEMS PRODUCE LESS HAZARD THAN HOUSE-SIDE SYSTEMS FOR MEDIAN WIDTHS OF 30 FT OR GREATER. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1973/460/460-013.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Traffic Safety Barriers and Sign, Signal and Lighting Supports. 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.
• Authors:
  • Walton, N E
  • Hirsch, T J
  • Rowan, N J
• Conference:
  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 123-136
• Monograph Title: Traffic safety barriers and lighting supports
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 460
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash tests; Crashes; Evaluation; Hazards; Index tests; Lighting; Medians; Street lighting; Structural engineering; Traffic lanes; Vehicles; Weight
• Old TRIS Terms: Index properties
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Research; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00210046
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 31 1974 12:00AM