Jan 01, 2007

It has become a common scene: a driver in a parking lot suddenly loses control of a car, sending it into a storefront or other pedestrian area. In an effort to minimize the injury and damage caused by such crashes, ASTM International Committee F12 on Security Systems and Equipment is developing a proposed new standard, WK13074, Test Method for Crash Testing of Low Speed Pedestrian Barriers. The standard is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee F12.10 on Systems Products and Services.
 
“Separating pedestrians from traffic and protecting storefronts from the impacts of cars that jump curbs as a result of operator error are compelling issues of public safety and building design,” says Robert Reiter, a member of Subcommittee F12.10 and national sales manager, Cal Pipe Security Bollards. When approved, WK13074 will enable designers to properly size pedestrian protection devices based on lower energy threats such as passenger vehicles traveling at lower speeds. According to Dean Alberson, subcommittee member and research engineer in the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, barriers such as these are not typically tested and their performance is largely unknown.
 
“Manufacturers will have certified labs use this proposed new standard to obtain pedestrian ratings for their products,” says Alberson. “Architects and engineers will be the end users of products that are tested to these standards.”
 
Reiter says that the only current standard for testing barriers is the K rating from the United States Department of State, but that this standard does not really apply to most cases in which bollards are used. WK13074 will cover the bollards, barriers, gates, planters and other products used in the many instances not covered by the K rating. “WK13074 will provide architects and engineers with tools to evaluate products and materials that will be put in place to provide simple security, pedestrian protection or denial of access to vehicles less than 5500 pounds at normal traffic speeds,” says Reiter.

The subcommittee is especially interested in working with stakeholders who want a testing protocol that will provide definitive guidance for testing products to be incorporated into public safety programs, site security specifications, and property protection features. For further technical information, contact Robert Reiter, Cal Pipe Security Bollards, Downey, Calif. (phone: 800/225-7473 ext. 238; rob@calpipe.com). Committee F12 meets April 17-18, 2007, during the April Committee Week in Norfolk, Va. For membership or meeting information, contact Joseph Hugo, manager, Technical Committee Operations, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9740; jhugo@astm.org).

Release #7568