Traffic light poles can be improved. In the name of improving road safety

Contrary to appearances, road collisions involving traffic light poles are quite common road incidents. So common that the Australian company Impact Absorbing Systems, in cooperation with scientists from the University of South Australia, created a new type of traffic light pole, which is to protect careless drivers and their passengers from more serious consequences of a collision.

Yes, it sounds a bit ridiculous, but according to official Australian statistics, the cost of treating victims of traffic light accidents is $ 53.7 million annually. Anyway, it is hardly surprising. The poles on which the traffic signal is mounted are quite rigid, which makes them poorly able to absorb the kinetic energy of cars hammering into them. Hence the large number of fatalities in this type of collision.

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Hence the idea of ​​the Impact Absorbing Systems company, which, thanks to the help of engineers from the University of South Australia, decided to scale the structure of the road poles it already produced and to create energy-consuming signaling poles on their basis. The idea is quite simple, take a look at this diagram:

As you can see on it, the metal pole is embedded in a standard concrete foundation. What is non-standard, however, is the cone made of polyurethane foam, which, thanks to its properties, allows the metal part to bend, taking a large part of the kinetic energy from it. Impact Absorbing Systems claims that such a solution will significantly reduce the death rate of collisions involving traffic light poles.

For now, the company wants to test its new design in Australia. If the new traffic light poles do prove to be a safer solution, the manufacturer will probably want to sell them in other countries.