Accident statistics illustrate that a significant number of deaths and serious injuries on UK roads are due to impacts on roadside furniture and safety barriers. Mott MacDonald has carried out a review of current design standards for traffic sign supports and developed a design pack for the design of Lattix aluminium masts. Developments in the US and Scandinavia are leading towards using street furniture that will collapse on impact. These passively safe systems are the subject of European Standard B EN 12767:2000. The classification of all passively safe equipment must be based on real impact tests using a lightweight vehicle. Lattix Aluminium masts were developed by Juralco in Norway and are distributed in the UK by Sign Post Solutions Ltd. The properties of the Lattix masts and test results obtained for the masts are discussed. Guidelines have been issued on the appropriate location and use of passively safe signs.
Samenvatting