Crash Cushion / End Terminal
ELM-CCT-24 Recommended Element
Crash Cushion / End Terminal
An energy-absorbing device installed at the exposed end of a traffic barrier or in front of a fixed hazard, designed to decelerate an impacting vehicle gradually rather than presenting a rigid, unshielded end or face.
Why this pattern exists
An unshielded barrier end or exposed fixed object can spear or abruptly stop an impacting vehicle, causing more severe injury than a properly designed energy-absorbing terminal would; this pattern exists specifically to address that exposure, since it is a distinct failure mode from the barrier’s general run.1
Key considerations
- Required wherever a traffic barrier’s end is exposed to head-on or angled impact from the direction of travel
- Device selection must match the expected impact speed and angle for the specific location, not be applied as a generic default
- Regular inspection and maintenance is necessary, since a damaged or improperly reset device may not perform as designed in a subsequent impact2
Related patterns
Traffic Barrier (ELM-TRB-23) (the element this pattern terminates); Bollard (ELM-BOL-25) (a related but distinct safety hardware type)
References
- Legal / regulatory American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), 2016.
- Legal / regulatory Federal Highway Administration / American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Joint Implementation Agreement guidance on MASH transition deadlines.