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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Device to Optimize Crashworthiness of Breakaway Sign Support System to Meet AASHTO MASH</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2505728</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will develop a device that will improve the crashworthiness of small sign breakaway support systems. The majority of these systems have not been successfully tested to the guidelines of the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). The most common observed crash testing failure is the sign panels and sign support rotating into the windshield and roof and causing excessive deformation or penetration of the occupant compartment. The device to be developed in this project will attach to the small sign support system to change the rotation and trajectory of the breakaway components after an impact so that the breakaway components do not strike the windshield or the rear window or the roof of the impacting vehicle. The device is expected to work on a wide variety of existing breakaway sign support configurations. The behavior of existing sign supports will be adjusted by optimizing size, mass, and location of the device through simulated tests. The results of simulated tests will be validated through crash tests with a small car and a pickup truck surrogate vehicles and one or two sign support system configuration(s) with the prototype device attached. If successful, the mass and height of the mass necessary for each configuration to produce a crashworthy behavior will be determined. The results will be input into a program so that the mass and height can be calculated for any configuration.   ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:23:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2505728</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Application of MASH Test Criteria to Breakaway Sign and Luminaire Supports and Crashworthy Work Zone Traffic Control Devices



</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2433905</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Recent crash testing of small and medium sign supports and work-zone devices has been problematic for both of the test vehicles required in the 2009 AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). Many of these designs have previously been successfully full-scale crash tested under NCHRP Report 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. Only the small car (1800-lb, Geo Metro or similar) test was performed under NCHRP Report 350. MASH requires testing with both a small car (2420-lb, Kia Rio or similar) and a pickup truck (5000-lb, ½-ton Dodge Quad Cab or similar) into these types of devices. Occupant Impact Velocities (OIVs) and Occupant Ride-Down Accelerations (ORAs) have not been a problem because of the increased weight of the test vehicles, even with the commensurate reduction in impact speed in MASH Test 3-60. However, the change in frontal geometry (i.e., bumper heights, increased frontal area, and wrap around distances) and increased ground clearance has changed the interaction between the vehicle and object struck. In general, small and medium sign supports used to pass over the top of the impacting vehicle with limited or no vehicle contact. With the newer MASH test vehicles, sign supports are now striking the windshield and roof of the test vehicles and failing the occupant compartment intrusion and/or penetration requirements of MASH. Similarly, vehicle collisions with portable work-zone devices are causing unacceptable windshield and roof penetrations and/or deformations as well as floor pan penetrations. No testing has been conducted to date on luminaires (light poles) under MASH, but this recent testing on other breakaway and portable work-zone devices raises questions as to the expected performance of breakaway luminaire poles under the MASH impact safety criteria. The addition of objective vehicle intrusion and deformation criteria has also brought into question the future usefulness of pendulum/bogie testing of breakaway and crashworthy designs.
 

The objective of this research is to identify and evaluate the crash performance of breakaway sign and luminaire supports and crashworthy work-zone traffic control devices that are non-proprietary and commonly used. The evaluation should address their in-service safety performance, potential failure modes (and, if possible, design modifications that might address those failure modes), and their likelihood to comply with the current MASH crash test criteria.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2433905</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementation of MASH Surrogate Test Vehicles for Sign Supports, Breakaway Poles, and Work Zone Traffic Control Devices</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854207</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Historically, roadside safety features have been subjected to crashworthiness evaluations using a variety of impact test specifications and/or guidelines.  The implementation of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) has left state departments of transportation (DOTs) and manufacturers in a situation where a significant number of breakaway poles, sign supports, and work zone traffic control devices (herein called “Systems”) need to be evaluated for MASH compliance. The development of robust surrogate test vehicles, with an ability to largely capture vehicle deformation and penetrations as well as accurate system behavior, would reduce crash-testing costs and promote greater innovation for new products for manufacturers and DOTs. There is a need to provide a guide to aid in selecting the appropriate surrogate test vehicles and testing protocols to evaluate the crashworthiness of Systems.
The objective of this research is to develop a guide for the implementation of surrogate test vehicles, including pendulums and bogie vehicles, for evaluation of Systems for MASH compliance and propose modifications to the AASHTO MASH for sign supports, breakaway poles, and work zone traffic control devices. 
At the minimum, the research results shall include the design and development of surrogate test vehicles, testing protocols, and validation based on simulation and laboratory testing for families of related devices within the following three groups: (1) sign supports, (2) breakaway poles, and (3) work zone traffic control devices. For this research, a family of related devices is a set of similar devices within one of the three groups that share the same critical characteristics controlling crashworthiness.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 May 2021 10:58:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854207</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Proposed AASHTO Guidelines for Implementation of MASH for Sign Supports, Breakaway Poles, and Work Zone Traffic Control Devices</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628627</link>
      <description><![CDATA[NCHRP Project 22-43: Implementation of MASH for Sign Supports, Breakaway Poles, and Work Zone Traffic Control Devices (Completed): the objective of this research is to develop guidelines for implementation of, and propose modification to, AASHTO MASH for sign supports, breakaway poles, and work zone traffic control devices, including examples to demonstrate the application of the proposed guidelines.

NCHRP Project 17-105: MASH Crashworthiness of Luminaire Poles (Research in Progress): there are two objectives: (1) determine the maximum height and weight of breakaway poles and hardware that will meet MASH requirements and (2) investigate if the criterion of a 4-inch-tall object on a 5-foot chord is appropriate for the current vehicle fleet. Research efforts for Objective 1 will include: (1) physical tests to correlate roof crush with pole and hardware height and weight and aid in determining critical pole configurations, and (2) dropping poles with associated hardware of varying heights and weights onto vehicles as a precursor to full-scale crash testing. The findings will be used to identify improvements to vehicle computer models to better simulate crash testing roof crush. Research efforts for Objective 2 will: (1) review procedures used to develop the 4-inch-tall object on a 5-foot chord criteria, (2) determine if the procedure can be improved, and (3) analyze procedures with a current vehicle fleet.

Results from this research may help guide future improvements to MASH, the Roadside Design Guide, and other AASHTO documents. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Jun 2019 13:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628627</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>In Service Evaluation of Railroad Signal and Stop Arm Pole Protection</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1482192</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This study will address the need for providing steel beam guardrail to protect railroad poles. The proposed work is comprised of the following tasks: Task 1. Literature Review; Task 2. State-of-the-Practice Review; Task 3. Data Collection; Task 4. Statistical and Economic Analyses; and Task 5. Prepare Final Project Report. The goals of this study are: (1) Determine the crash rate into railroad poles without steel beam protection and compare to those with steel beam protection to determine if protecting against this hazard is actually reducing injuries; (2) Determine the benefit/cost ratio for protecting with steel beam guardrail or crash cushions given the crash rate per vehicle in relation to annual average daily traffic (AADT); (3) Determine what railroad pole designs are breakaway, if any, such that they are designed to safely break away during a crash and thus would not warrant protection; and (4) Survey State departments of transportation (DOTs) to determine best practices if a positive benefit/cost ratio is unattainable for a given AADT and the railroad pole is not breakaway.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 Sep 2017 16:15:58 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1482192</guid>
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