EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The government is always looking at the latest technology that can ensure safety of road users, as
outlined in the construction industry transformation plan. A small Korean manufacturing
company invented a new concept longitudinal barrier, (The Rolling Barrier) which had
continuous pipes covered with urethane rings. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of
the Rolling Barrier and to understand the Rolling Barrier’s characteristics of crash cushioning,
how to correct the vehicles running direction and the required strength of barriers. The Rolling
Barrier satisfied the ministry of construction and transportations, “Guidelines for Installation and
management of road safety facilities”. The Rolling Barrier can be effectively used in curved
roads sections, ramps, medians and entrance or exit ramps in parking garages.

INTRODUCTION

Road accidents the leading cause of death by injury and the tenth-leading cause of all deaths
globally — now make up a surprisingly significant portion of the worldwide burden of ill-
health. An estimated 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes each year, and as many as
50 million are injured, occupying 30 percent to 70 percent of orthopedic beds in developing
countries hospitals. And if present trends continue, road traffic injuries are predicted to be
the third-leading contributor to the global burden of disease and injury by 2020.

It occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other
stationary obstruction, such as tree, pole or building. Traffic collision often result injury, death
and damage property. Traffic barriers keeps the vehicles organize within their roadway to
prevent collision from other moving and non-moving obstructions. They are commonly installed
in the middle, bridge ends, at drainage crossing or culverts, near steep slopes and roadside to
help vehicles from entering the opposing lane and to reduce head-on collision.

Developing countries bear a large share of the burden, accounting for 85 percent of annual
deaths and 90 percent of the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost because of road
traffic injury. And since road traffic injuries affect mainly males (73 percent of deaths) and
those between 15 and 44 years old, this burden is creating enormous economic hardship due
to the loss of family members.
Harm from road traffic crashes is arguably the largest public health problem facing the world.
Annually, more than 300 000 people are killed on our roads. That is more than 900 deaths per
day. (Also, there are more than 300 injuries per day.) Large though these numbers are, they
reflect inadequately the harm from traffic crashes. Unlike victims of diseases, those killed in
traffic are overwhelmingly young and, absent their crash, could have looked forward to a life of
normal longevity in normal health. The victims include more than 500 children younger than 7
years killed annually, which surely should be more than adequate to terminate any discussion
that the victims are all responsible for their fate. Additionally, many die in the womb.

Figure 1:
Road Traffic Deaths Worldwide by Sex and Age Group, 2002

Source: WHO Global Burden of Disease Project, Version 1 (2002).

Road traffic injuries are predictable and preventable, but good data are important to
understand the ways in which road safety interventions and technology can be successfully
transferred from developed countries where they have proven effective. Awareness of the
consequences of road traffic injuries is lagging among policymakers and the public. What's
needed is incorporation of comprehensive road safety programs into national planning in
developing countries.
PROFILE OF THE PROBLEM

In developed countries, road traffic death rates have decreased since the 1960s because of
successful interventions such as seat belt safety laws, enforcement of speed limits, warnings
about the dangers of mixing alcohol consumption with driving, and safer design and use of
roads and vehicles. More than one-half of all road traffic deaths globally occur among
people ages 15 to 44 — their most productive earning years. Moreover, the disability burden
for this age group accounts for 60 percent of all DALYs lost because of road traffic
accidents. The costs and consequences of these losses are significant. Three-quarters of all
poor families who lost a member to road traffic death reported a decrease in their standard
of living, and 61 percent reported they had to borrow money to cover expenses following
their loss.

As in developed countries, driver impairment is an important component of road traffic

accidents in developing countries. Driving at excess speeds, while under the influence of
alcohol or drugs, while sleepy or tired, when visibility is compromised, or without
protective gear for all vehicle occupants are major factors in crashes, deaths, and serious
injuries.

PREVENTION INTERVENTION

One Korean company developed a product to reduce the harsh impacts of guardrails, and
hopefully save lives. The guardrail can operate to deflect a vehicle back to the roadway, slow the
vehicle down to a complete stop, or let it proceed past the guardrail. But the guardrails cannot
completely protect against the situations drivers may find themselves in. The size and speed of
the vehicle can affect guardrail performance.

Typical guardrails composed of steel plates cannot guarantee a driver's’ safety. Softer guardrails
protect drivers from shock and provide opportunities to save more drivers’ lives. To minimize
the number of accidents, a company called ETI (Evolution in Traffic Innovation) designed
“Rolling Barrier System”, a structure equipped with continuous pipes covered with urethane
rings. Its general feature resembles an erected abacus. As the rolling barrier activates the rolling
friction when vehicles hit the barrier, the rolling barrier reduces severity of traffic accidents.
After the rolling barrier was installed at two downgraded and curved roads sections, the
accidents at the sections were reduced by more than 50% in a year.

This rolling barrier system has been designed to reduce impact during crashes on motorways,
according to the manufacturer ETI. Each barrier consists of a steel tube with plastic cylinders
that spin on impact. It is being trialed on a road in Malaysia that is known as an accident hotspot.
In three months a report will be published showing if the barrier has reduced dangerous
accidents.

BARRIER

Barriers or guard rails or longitudinal barriers or traffic barriers keep vehicles within their road
way and prevent vehicles from colliding with dangerous obstacles such as boulders, sign
supports, trees, bridge abutments, building walls and large storm drains.

Figure 2: View of Rolling Barrier Figure 3: View of Metal Barrier

Barriers are categorized in to two ways, by the function they serve and by how much they deflect
when a vehicle crashes into them.
 1. Barriers Functions:
 Road side barriers are used to protect traffic from roadside obstacles or hazards.
 Median barriers are used to prevent vehicles from crossing over a median and striking
an oncoming vehicle in a head on crash.
 Bridge barrier is designed to restrain vehicles from crashing of the side of a bridge and
falling onto the roadway.
 Work zone barriers are used to protect traffic from hazards in work zones.

2. Barriers Stiffness:
 Flexible barriers include cable barriers and weak post corrugated guide rail systems.
They will deflect 1.6 to 2.6m (5.2 to 8.5 feet) when struck by a typical passenger car or a
light truck.
 Semi rigid barriers include box beam guiderail, heavy post blocked out corrugated
guide rail and the beam rail. They deflect 3-6 feet (0.91 to 1.83m).
 Rigid barriers are usually constructed of reinforced concrete. They deflect in negligible
distance.

Figure 4: View of Concrete and Plastic Barrier

ROLLING BARRIERS
This consists of both flexible property and semi rigid property barrier stiffness. They are
different in mechanism than other types of barriers also reduce the hazards or accidents.
Urethane has become the material of choice in so many of today’s performance driven
applications because it exhibits extraordinary physical and mechanical properties that other
materials simply can’t match.

Figure 5: View of Rolling Barrier in Curved Path both in day light and night
reflection system

FEATURES

 Made of special chemical compound like hard rubber.

 Easy to maintain due to separated barrels (recyclable).
 Stopper boards installed on the top and the lower part of the barrels to guide objects back
to the road.
 Easy to adjust height, noticeable to drivers due to noticeable coloration and self-
luminescence.

 Noticeable to drivers due to noticeable coloration and self-luminescence.

 Less costs to install

HOW SAFETY ROLLER WORKS

The rolling barriers do more than absorb impact energy. They convert that impact energy into
rotational energy to propel the vehicle forward rather than potentially breaking through an
immovable barrier. The ETI product has a rotating barrel made of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate)
with excellent shock absorption power, three-dimensional buffering frames and dense props
supporting the frames. Rotating Barrels comes with attached reflective sheeting for good
visibility.

When a car hits the guardrail, the rotating barrel converts shock from the vehicle to rotational
energy. Upper and lower frames adjust tires of large and small vehicles to prevent the steering
system from a functional loss. Railway rails and liquid props absorb shock from accident
vehicles, and frames with the smooth surface adjust tires of the vehicles and guide them in the
moving direction to prevent second rear-end collisions. The three-dimensional structure of the D-
shaped frame and buffering bracket distribute and absorb the second shock. Props at an interval
of 0.7 m increase bearing power to prevent vehicles from further derailing. As the props are
independent, only damaged parts need to be replaced. This keeps maintenance costs pretty low.

Figure 6: Rolling Barrier parts arrangements

TEST PERFORMANCE
 1. Small car
900 kg car, 20° side collision. During the evaluation, it was observed that the product
sends an accident vehicle back to the normal moving track, protects occupants and
second vehicle accidents.
2. Large Car
10-ton truck, 15° side collision. During the evaluation, it was observed that the product
changes the collision method to rotational friction to make collision continue for a long
time and thus minimize momentary shock.

3. Bus
13-ton bus, 20° side collision. During the evaluation, it was observed that the product
changes the collision method to rotational friction to make collision continue for a long
time and minimize momentary shock.

DRAWBACK

1. Cost - Compared to other types of barriers like reinforced concrete, this rolling barrier which
is made up of urethane, which is less cost, but while urethane resource availability is less
compared to reinforced concrete.

2. Heat Treatment - At high temperatures in summer season, the rubber characteristic feature is
that it tends to low resistance property. So, that plays a major role in rolling barrier system but
can be restricted or maintained by proper inspections periodically (once in two to four weeks or
once in a month). Also a technique to cool down the heat is to sprinkle water on this rolling
system, etc.

3. Maintenance - Due to periodical inspection, maintenance of the rolling barrier system is in

high level and labor work is more.

IMPLEMENTATION
  Can be installed in curved road sections,
Ex: National highway 22 (highway to hell) is considered to be India’s most
dangerous highways, median barriers are used here which is made up of metallic
materials. Instead of these barriers if we use rolling barriers then the accidents
occurring will be reduced which gives us safety level to a bit higher range.
 Ramps in city or state or national highways.

 Medians and entrance or exit ramps in parking garages.

CONCLUSION

The accidents are the errors which are occurred or done by humans while on the usage of
motor vehicles and also sometimes the nature creates problems like rainy and cold weather
conditions for slippery surfaces of roads, which will create chaos situations and tends to hit
the other vehicles or hit the barriers installed on the outer edge of the roads. These barriers
are of different types and have their own characteristic features but the new idea is about the
installations of the rolling barrier systems which will stop the accidents occurring to surpass
the road to gravel or steep hill down or other part of the road, and also saves life of the
people present inside the vehicle. As above explanations of barriers and their proofs tells us
that the rolling barrier systems are a high priority towards safety, better than other types of
barriers in terms of stiffness and strength, high positive results in the crash test performances,
etc. Ultimately life is more precious than vehicles but when it comes to rolling barrier system
usage, it safes life and also prevents maximum damage level of the vehicles. The rolling
barrier systems are the future technology in Transportation Engineering.

Appendices
Figure 1: Road Traffic Deaths Worldwide by Sex and Age Group, 2002

Figure 6: Rolling Barrier parts arrangements

REFERENCES
 “This New Korean Rolling Barrier System Could Save Millions of Lives.” Interesting Engineering,
interestingengineering.com/korean-company-develops-life-saving-rolling-barrier-system.
 “Traffic barrier.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic barrier.
 Siciliano, Leon. “This rolling barrier system could reduce the impact of a motorway
crash.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 29 Dec. 2016, uk.businessinsider.com/rolling-barrier-
system-fti-tested-indonesia-road-motorway-crash-save-lives-accident-2016-12.
 Boudette, Neal E. “U.S. Traffic Deaths Rise for a Second Straight Year.” The New York Times, The
New York Times, 15 Feb. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/business/highway-traffic-
safety.html.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_barrier
 https://interestingengineering.com/korean-company-develops-life-saving-rolling-barrier-
system
 http://uk.businessinsider.com/rolling-barrier-system-fti-tested-indonesia-road-motorway-
crash-save-lives-accident-2016-12
 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/business/highway-traffic-safety.html
 http://www.icdo.org/en/disasters/man-made-disasters/transport-accidents/road/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKQPi3nQmno
 http://mashable.com/2017/02/01/rolling-road-barriers-reduce-crash-impact/
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