ATSSA Signal September October 2019

American Traffic Safety Services Association 12 Product 101 Guardrails are important compo- nents of roadway safety infrastructure and save lives everyday onU.S. roadways. These traffic devices help prevent road- way departure crashes, which account for more than 50 percent of vehicle traf- fic fatalities, and reduce fatalities and serious injuries in these crashes by 26 percent, according to the Federal High- way Administration (FHWA). While there are variousmodels of guard- rails, one Korean-based manufacturer, ETI Industry Co., Ltd., has developed a barrier with a unique and innovative feature that landed thecompanyanATSSA Innovation Award at the Association’s 2018 Annual Convention & Traffic Expo. “I have been involved in the industry for over twenty years, pushing for road safety around the world. I came across this innovative design utilizing an energy absorbing rotating element withaunique guardrail design in Korea five years ago,” ETI President John Lee said. According to Lee, the energy absorbing roadside and median guardrail system has been used in Korea for ten years and has passed all Korean crash testing requirements. However, it was only intro- duced to North America and Europe in 2017, after undergoing design changes tomeet and pass the rigorous crash test requirements of European EN1317 (H1 & H2 level of restraint) and the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) test (TL3 & TL4) requirements. Lee said the guardrail has several key features including a reusable, energy absorbing barrel shaped element made of Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (EVA) material, that absorbs the majority of the impacting force into the guardrail system. The device also has a rotational element for improved and safer redirection of the impacting vehicle, a symmetrical top and bottom double D-shaped steel guardrail system with a round post to provide maximum strength and integ- rity resulting inminimal deflection upon impact, and an overall installation height of 38 inches to provide maximum effec- tive impact area coverage to contain a wider range of vehicle types. ETI’s Rolling Guardrail Barrier System is now installed and used in Korea, Thai- land, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Romania, and Product 101: ETI’s rolling guardrail innovates roadways 2018 second place ATSSA Innovation Award winner showcased at Association’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo Ghana. It is under current evaluation in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cura- cao, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, and the United States. Despite the product’s growing success, Lee said there are still challenges to address related to the public perception of guardrails. “Guardrails are installed to protect the motorist and provide a safer driving environment, to prevent roadway depar- tures, and to keepmotorists from crash- ing into a more dangerous hazard or roadside situation. ETI’s Rollling Barrier Guardrail System is a forgiving barrier that can minimize potential of serious injury and secondary accidents while reducing maintenance costs,” Lee said. “Both industry and government need to work together to monitor and enforce properly tested and up-to-date prod- ucts before they are implemented and come up with improved guidelines for in-field evaluations. We need to seek ways to improve the quality of products currently utilized and insure the existing older guardrail infrastructure is brought up to date with current vehicle designs and specifications.”  One key feature of ETI Industry Co.’s rolling guardrail system is its ability to absorb more of the impacting force in the event of a crash. The guardrail is also highly reflective, allowing for high visibility at night.