Road restraint systems such as steel guardrails and concrete crash barriers have been used in Germany since the 50s. While other countries, such as the USA, often use concrete crash barriers, steel systems are more common in Germany. A targeted development and improvement of steel systems took place in Germany in the 60s and 70s. The investigations at that time were based on a large number of crash tests. Crash tests are still used today, after the opening of the European market, to test the suitability of road restraint systems. The requirements that must be met are laid down in European standards. The introduction of these standards is of great consequence for the systems, including those currently used in Germany. Classifying the systems in one of the performance levels is the basis for laying down at national level the areas in which the various systems may be used. It was the aim of the presented research to create the basis for classifying the systems using crash tests, which met the requirements of the standards. A brief overview of the European standards is followed by a description of the impact tests carried out together with results for the different steel guardrails and concrete barriers. (Author/publisher).
Abstract