TY - JOUR PY - 2008// TI - Development of the Midwest Guardrail System for Standard and Reduced Post Spacing and in Combination with Curbs: Part 1 JO - Accident reconstruction journal A1 - Polivka, Karla A1 - Faller, Ronald A1 - Sicking, Dean A1 - Reid, John A1 - Rohde, John A1 - Holloway, James A1 - Kuipers, Beau A1 - Bielenberg, Bob SP - 49 EP - 61, 64 VL - 18 IS - 2 N2 - Significant changes in the vehicle fleet over the past 10 years have led to changes in performance criteria for roadside safety hardware. In particular, replacement of the large sedan with a 3/4-ton pickup has caused reevaluation of much of the existing roadside safety hardware. One of the key questions in this reevaluation has been the performance of the W-beam guardrail. Several recent tests of W-beam guardrails have shown that successful capture and redirection of the 3/4-ton pickup vehicle is very sensitive to vehicle size, soil conditions, and post types. Unfortunately, these requirements do not appear to be satisfied by either standard W-beam rail systems nor the more costly 3-beam systems. In recognition of the potential for improving guardrail performance for high-center-of-gravity vehicles and the need to reestablish reasonable barrier height tolerances, the aims of this research project were to: examine the performance of W-beam guardrails and make necessary design changes; develop a guardrail-to-curb barrier combination that provides increased hydraulic capacity and placement farther in front of the rail face to reduce frequency of snow plow damage to guardrails; and 3) evaluate guardrail stiffening and determine appropriate guardrail placement guidelines for shielding rigid-hazards using full-, half-, and quarter-post spacing designs.

LA - SN - 1057-8153 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -