The objective of this study is to analyze the type and entity of injuries caused to the occupants of the vehicles involved in accidental impacts against guardrails with the high containment level. At present, the installation of highway guardrails requires the maintaining of some specific control rules imposing some verifications of the characteristics of the chosen vehicle, the dynamic parameters of impacts and the behaviors during the crash. The results of the crash tests carried out for the different types of guardrails, concerning the trajectory and the acceleration of the vehicle during the impact as well as of the damages suffered by the vehicle itself, do not allow establishing any precise element regarding the possible injuries to the occupants of the vehicle. (A)
Abstract