| RURAL GUARDRAILS
20 The length in metres
of danger spots that can
be protected by the BOS
Primus 2a safety barrier
Annual Showcase 2020 | Intertraffic World 179
If there is enough space, a standard
steel barrier measuring a minimum
of 200m is usually installed to protect
vehicle occupants from crashing into
a tree. If there are crossings and this
length cannot be achieved, the
variety of tested VRS for this
situation is very limited.
Germany-based Saferoad has
developed several products for this
and similar scenarios over the past
two decades. The corresponding
product family is called Primus and
covers solutions for guardrail starts/
endings, single obstacles and the
radius sections of road crossings.
The Terminal Primus P2 has
applications that include replacing
drop-down ends. These ends are still
common in Germany and other
European countries, but have the
disadvantage that a vehicle is not
stopped immediately and could roll
over or slide into a ditch. It is similar
in function to the terminals that are
used according to the American
AASHTO or MASH standards.
The Primus Terminal is currently
the only energy-absorbing terminal
on the official German product
list compiled by the Federal Highway
Research Institute (BASt). The
product’s characteristics mean the
lengths before and after obstacles
can be reduced significantly.
Furthermore, there is a single
obstacle protection called BOS
Primus 2a, which offers the
performance class N2-W4-A
and has a length of only 6.4m in
the basic version. This means trees,
pillars or speed cameras can be
secured economically and in an
environmentally friendly fashion
thanks to the short installation
length. In case of several trees or
other, longer obstacles, the system
can be enlarged up to 26.4m, which
covers danger spots of up to 20m.
Fresh products
A new product development
concerns the area of intersections
in rural areas, where an adequate
protection of the roadside was
previously missing. Currently
in use are curved guardrail
beams, in combination with
tested and untested dropdown
ends.
The new guardrail
product, called Arcus Primus
90, is designed and tested
directly at a steep slope in
a 90-degree radius, as often
appears on intersections.
The product is only 5m long,
5m wide and 0.75m high and
tests were done at 60 and 80km/h
according to EN 1317. The product is
manufactured in a 90-degree angle so
that it can be installed easily in nearly
every intersection, where two roads
meet or a road enters a T-junction.
Intersections pose an additional
danger in that there is a potentially
high impact angle into obstacles
or existing guardrails. This can lead
to a breakage of a standard guardrail
– due to the high-energy impact as
well as to the high impact angle in
relation to the guardrail – and can
result in a serious crash if a vehicle
hits an obstacle and subsequently
rolls down a slope.
The new barrier is designed
especially for this location and
is currently the only one on the
German market that is tested for
this application. Not only have these
tests been successful, but so too have
the large number of installations in
Germany and other countries since
product launch at the end of 2018.
This proves the practicability of – and
the need for – the Arcus Primus 90.
There are appropriate solutions
available for many danger spots that
appear along country roads. It is now
up to the stakeholders in the road
safety business to promote and
implement these products and
thereby support Vision Zero. ■