Assessing vehicle restraint systems on horizontal curves

¹ Gdańsk University of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Highway and Transportation Engineering Department, ul. Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
² Gdańsk University of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanics of Materials and Structures, ul. Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland

^* Corresponding author: mbudz@pg.edu.pl

Abstract

Horizontal curves, an element of road infrastructure, have a statistically high number of accidents. Considering that horizontal curves in the last ten years have had app. 10% of all road accidents representing app. 14% of all fatalities on Polish roads, the issue is serious and requires more research and proper road safety treatments. Data for 2007 - 2016 show that in the case of accidents on horizontal curves app. 45% of the fatalities happened as a result of crashing into roadside obstacles such as signs and first of all trees. This shows that horizontal curves require road safety equipment, and specifically, safety barriers. Key to this is using the right equipment and the right parameters. To achieve that, full-scale crash tests should be conducted to be followed by numerical tests. The article will present a synthesis of the available research conducted in Poland and abroad. An assessment will be made of four crash tests of TB32 with barriers that have a steel and cable guardrail. They are the outcome of the RID 3A “Road safety equipment” project called RoSE. Building on these tests, numerical test results will be presented.