Throughout the years, a variety of end treatments for safety fences have been used to eliminate the hard point at the ends. One of the most popular solutions in the 70's was to turn the end down to form a ramp. In the 90's FHWA recognised the danger of this design on high speed roads and suitable alternatives were considered. Internationally, highway authorities agree in principle and some countries have prohibited turned down ends. However, authorities in other countries are reluctant to eliminate turned down ends since the alternatives cited by FHWA are relatively unknown outside North America. The purpose of the paper is to focus on alternative end treatment systems and their characteristics, and to emphasise the importance of matching the properties of these systems to site specific conditions when selecting an end treatment.
Abstract