Guardrail End Terminals
Guardrail Terminals are installed at the ends of the longitudinal guardrail safety barrier system to mitigate the risk of impacts at the end of the system and to anchor the system facilitating safe vehicle containment and redirection.
Most guardrail end terminals are energy-absorbing, designed to absorb the kinetic energy of a vehicle impacting end-on and bring the errant vehicle to a safe stop. During angled impacts at the nose of the terminal, the errant vehicle will gate through the system. When impacting downstream, at the point-of-need, the terminal is designed to safely redirect the errant vehicle.
Guardrail End Terminals
An energy-absorbing, tangential end terminal, designed to minimise the severity of impacts occurring at the end of the safety barrier system.
The GMET is an energy-absorbing median guardrail end terminal, designed to minimise the severity of impacts occurring at the end of the guardrail safety barrier system.
The system has a tension-based design along with an energy-absorbing coupler that utilises an innovative cutting-tooth technology.
The RamShield Transition provides a smooth, snag-free connection between steel guardrail barriers and rigid barriers, such as at bridge parapets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the crash test requirement for a guardrail end terminal?
Guardrail end terminals approved for use by Australian state road agencies must be compliant to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). The highest performance level for a guardrail end terminal is MASH Test Level 3.
What is a GREAT?
A GREAT is known as a Gating Energy Absorbing Terminal. This terminology is adopted by some Australian state road agencies to define guardrail end terminals.
What is a Gating Terminal?
A gating terminal will allow the impacting vehicle to pass through or travel behind the terminal when impacted near the nose or end of the system. Since vehicles can enter the gating area, designers should consider the area behind the terminal and if possible, provide a traversable runout area behind the terminal.
Are all guardrail end terminals classified as gating terminals?
Yes. All guardrail end terminals are gating terminals and can only be relied upon to redirect an errant vehicle when the impact occurs downstream of the point-of-need. The point-of-need is also known as the beginning-length-of-need.
What is a Trailing Terminal?
A trailing terminal or departure terminal is designed to anchor the guardrail barrier only. Trailing terminals are not designed to absorb or dissipate impact energy when impacted end-on. Therefore, their use is limited to applications where end on impacts cannot occur such as divided roadways. It is recommended that GREAT terminals are installed at each end of the guardrail system on undivided roadways.
What is a tangential end terminal?
A tangential guardrail end terminal is aligned parallel to the roadway, rather than flared away from traffic. The terminal impact head directly faces approaching traffic, enabling it to absorb or dissipate energy in a head-on collision.
Can a tangential terminal be installed on a curved roadway?
The guardrail beams used for the assembly of a tangential end terminal must be straight and cannot be factory curved. It is therefore recommended that the guardrail installation be extended to a location that will facilitate parallel alignment with the roadway.
How does the installation of a guardrail end terminal differ from the downstream guardrail barrier?
A guardrail end terminal will often use different guardrail beams and posts when compared to the downstream guardrail barrier. In addition, the post spacing of the guardrail end terminal will vary from the downstream barrier. Therefore, it is important that components are not interchanged, and assembly guidelines are correctly followed.
Is it acceptable to install a fishtail or bullnose at the end of the guardrail system?
No. A fishtail or bullnose is not a crash tested element and not an appropriate guardrail end terminal for a road safety barrier system.
How are Safe Direction guardrail end terminals packaged and shipped to the customer?
Guardrail end terminals supplied by Safe Direction are packaged as individual units to facilitate ease of handling.
