CRASH Test: 80000 lb tractor trailer 50 mph at 15 degrees into barrier
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:22 am
Recently saw this posted up
which includes:
- Lincoln Journal Star:tractor-tanker crash test into roadside barrier
which includes:
- The last test of a roadside barrier's ability to contain a runaway tractor-tanker fully loaded to 80,000 pounds took place in Texas more than three decades ago.
Since then, the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware, yes MASH, Test Level 6 standard called for concrete barriers 90 inches tall to capture and contain a tanker truck traveling at highway speeds.
On Wednesday, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility proved a shorter, thinner barrier could match the larger one's performance, potentially resulting in the first change to the national standard in several decades.
The barrier’s performance capturing a vehicle that collided with it an angle of 15 degrees traveling 50 mph -- an uncommon combination in most crashes -- indicates it would be successful at other speeds and angles as well, Stolle added.
The tank was filled with 7,000 gallons of water attached to a 2010 Freightliner Columbia and speeding it directly into the barrier