Crash test and evaluation of 3-ft mounting height sign support system.
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2016-07-01
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Edition:Test report, September 2014 - June 2015
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Abstract:The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other transportation agencies continue to
research potential countermeasure for mitigating wrong-way crashes. Because many drivers involved in
wrong-way crashes are impaired, some highway safety engineers are proponents of using low-mounting
height signs to communicate “Wrong Way” or “Do Not Enter” messages to these drivers. The Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) has a provision for the use of a 3-ft sign mounting height.
However, as with other sign support systems, any low-mounting height sign support system should meet
impact performance criteria prior to its implementation on the national highway system.
The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact performance of a 3-ft × 3-ft aluminum sign
panel mounted at a reduced mounting height of 3 ft from the bottom of the panel to grade. The sign panel is
supported by a wedge anchor system.
To evaluate the impact performance of the sign support system, two crash tests were performed under
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing
Safety Hardware (MASH) evaluation criteria. These were MASH Tests 3-60 and 3-61, which consist of a
2425-lb passenger car impacting the sign support system at nominal speeds of 19 mi/h and 62 mi/h,
respectively. In both tests, the 3-ft mounting height sign support system performed acceptably and met all
relevant MASH evaluation criteria.
MASH Test 3-62, which involves a 5000-lb pickup truck impacting the support structure at a speed of
62 mi/h, was not performed. The reduced mounting height of the sign support system eliminates any
secondary contact between the sign support system and the windshield of the pickup truck.
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