Crash test showcases strength of Nebraska-developed roadside barrier

The roadside barrier developed by University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers holds firm as a fully-loaded tractor-tanker vehicle slams into it during a Dec. 8 test. (Craig Chandler, UComm)
The roadside barrier developed by University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers holds firm as a fully-loaded tractor-tanker vehicle slams into it during a Dec. 8 test. (Craig Chandler, UComm)

by Karl Vogel | Engineering
December 8, 2021

Researchers from the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility conducted a rare tractor-tanker crash Dec. 8 to test how a newly designed and significantly shorter concrete roadside barrier performs in a crash.

The test at the facility’s Outdoor Proving Grounds on the western edge of the Lincoln Municipal Airport was the first in the United States in more than 30 years for a Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 6 truck (one pulling a tanker and not a box trailer), according to Cody Stolle, research assistant professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

The primary purpose of the event was to test a newly designed 62-inch tall concrete roadside barrier’s performance when it is contacted by a fully loaded tractor-tanker vehicle.

Read more:
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/crash-test-showcases-strength-of-nebraska-developed-roadside-barrier/