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Road safety barriers are designed to provide safe vehicle containment and redirection and shield motorists from roadside hazards including culverts, embankments, trees, bridge abutments and poles.

Road safety barriers may be configured with w-beam guardrail or thrie-beam guardrail and are typically crash tested in accordance with MASH as required by the Austroads Safety Barrier Assessment Panel (ASBAP).

A Safe System approach considers how roads and roadsides can be made more forgiving of human error, looks at how vehicles can contribute to saving lives and reducing harm, and ensures that travel speeds are appropriate for the roads and for all who use them.

The use of road safety barriers should reduce impact severity and limit potential injuries. The range of Safe Direction crash barriers aim to achieve practical safety outcomes to mitigate the severity and likelihood of hazard incidents.

Road Safety Barriers FAQs

What is a road safety barrier?

A road safety barrier, also known as a guardrail barrier, crash barrier or traffic barrier is a system designed to prevent errant vehicles from departing the safe travelled way and colliding with a roadside hazard or oncoming vehicle.

How do I select the most appropriate road safety barrier for my project?

The selection of a road safety barrier should consider the design vehicle, speed of the roadway, available clearance to the hazard, the type of hazard, vulnerable road users and geometry of the roadway. For example, a guardrail barrier will provide lower deflections when compared to a wire rope safety barrier and can also be installed on roadways with horizontal curvature.

How are road safety barriers assessed?

The Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) is a performance standard that describes the crash test conditions to evaluate compliance of a road safety barrier. MASH is the basis of crash testing nominated by AS/NZS 3845.1 and is the recommended crash test standard nominated by the Austroads Safety Barrier Assessment Panel (ASBAP).

MASH provides guidelines for the barrier configuration, vehicle type, vehicle speed and impact angle. The outcome of a road safety barrier crash test considers the structural adequacy of the barrier, the stability of the impacting vehicle and occupant risk.

What is the Safe System Approach?

The Safe System Approach is described in the Austroads Guide to Road Design, Part 6 and adopted by Australian State Road Agencies.  The road should be designed to minimise the likelihood that any aspect of the design will contribute to vehicles leaving the road. In the event that a vehicle does leave the road the roadside should be designed to eliminate or minimise the likelihood of a crash occurring and to minimise the severity of any crash that does occur.

How do I evaluate a roadside hazard?

A risk assessment approach is the preferred method for evaluating roadside hazards as described in the Austroads Guide to Road Design, Part 6. The severity of a hazard considers the lateral offset to the hazard, the speed of the roadway and road geometry. A trauma index is used to rank the severity of hazards.