SafeZone™ MASH-TL4 Steel Road Barrier

Key points about the SafeZone Road barrier

The SafeZone™ road crash barrier is the first MASH-TL4 Limited Deflection compliant temporary steel barrier system in the world. It offers superior protection, maximum performance, a small footprint and lower labour installation costs.

Laura Metaal has partnered with Australian Construction Products (ACP) and Jaybro to bring the SafeZone steel road barrier into the Australian market, offering a state-of-the-art steel safety barrier.

The importance of Road and Traffic Safety

Anyone who has witnessed or been involved in a car accident can understand how the force with which a vehicle hits an object plays a major role in the injuries caused by road traffic accidents.

With the increase in both passenger and commercial vehicles, combined with vehicles getting heavier and larger, one can imagine that there is a growing need to evolve and improve road crash barrier design.

Innovative thinking

The main purpose of road and traffic barriers is to reduce the severity of accidents and injuries. People will instinctively assume that something that is strong and solid will always offer the best level of protection.

However, strength in heavyweight, rigid barriers is not ideal for roadside protection, where one must consider impact force. On impact with a solid, static barrier, the colliding vehicle’s energy will not be absorbed; instead, the vehicle will be redirected and deformed, thus increasing the chances of there being a serious injury or fatality.

‘Fit for force’ was the guiding principle Laura Metaal used in developing a lightweight barrier that is designed not just to resist brute force, but to smartly absorb impact energy in crash conditions, to protect vehicle users, pedestrians and road workers.

Just like crumple zones in vehicles, which improve the safety of vehicles on impact, a similar principle is being used by Laura Metaal to improve the performance of its innovative new road barriers. Meet SafeZone.

SafeZone Barrier Features

End of Line SafeZone fit for force

SafeZone offers superior protection and maximum performance. It is smartly designed to absorb high levels of impact energy within its deflection range. Its unique and patented system was tested according to the AASHTO MASH (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware) 2016 standards.

The barrier successfully passed performance tests at MASH TL-3 up to MASH TL-4 Limited Deflection.

This means that SafeZone responds well to the impact velocity of a 10-ton truck travelling at 90km/h and impacting the barrier at a 15° angle.

Rigid standard steel or reinforced concrete transmits impact forces back into the vehicle, rather than absorbing them, which is a possible risk factor for severe or hidden damages or injuries. SafeZone is built to dissolve and absorb vehicle impact forces.

It can be applied as a temporary or permanent barrier on bridges, workzones, edges of roads, as well as median barriers on highways.

The small footprint is also an important benefit. SafeZone’s simple, lightweight yet solid design means that it can also be easily transported.

The limited weight of the barrier helps to reduce fuel consumption in maintenance vehicles. In combination with its 20-year life expectancy, this leads to a considerable reduction (estimated well over 80%) in CO2 emissions as compared with concrete road barriers.

Another plus-point is the lower labour installation costs, optimally combining robustness with flexibility. SafeZone barrier elements are very easy to connect, offering ultra-quick placement, therefore reducing road workers’ unprotected exposure to live traffic and also helping to cut workzone fatalities.