12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

EN 1317 and its Implementation in Greece

Despina Drymalitou Member of WG1 and TG2/TC 226/CEN

Transportation and Infrastructure Dipl. Engineer

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Overview: • Introduction • Implementation of EN 1317 • What ACHIEVED • Usual problems • FAQ in Greece for the implementation of EN 1317 • Answers to FAQ • Benefits by following the above process • Summary • Conclusions

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Introduction: • The implementation of EN 1317 is mandatory • All installed RRS must be CE marked (if

appropriate CE marking available) • CE marking allows products to be placed on

the market • Important to understand – EN 1317 restricted

to determining product performance

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

What does it mean? • EN 1317 does not include any reference to

Design, Installation and Maintenance • EU member states maintain responsibility

for road safety and so need additional national guidelines (as long as these do not contradict EN 1317)

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Implementation of EN 1317 in Greece:

Before the end of co-existence period (31.12.2010) the Greek State has proceeded with National Guidelines for the installation of RRS in order to be defined the performance of products placed on the roads. The preparation of harmonized National Guidelines for Road Restraint Systems and its necessary adoption to the increased safety requirements on roads is an important step for the implementation of EN 1317.

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Greek National Guidelines for RRS installation, define: • the roadside hazards • the logical minimum protection

level for roadside hazards • a reliable tool to take effective and

sustainable decisions regarding minimum system performance against determined roadside hazards

• the lengths before and after the obstacle

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Flowchart for the definition of barriers' performance at the outer edge of roads, an important decision tool…

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what ACHIEVED: • rules assure Road Safety • troubleshooting during the drafting of the tender

specifications of stakeholders, e.g. Authorities, Consulting Firms, Designers, Contractors etc.

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Usual problems:

Roadside configurations on roads they are not suitable to barriers test conditions, such as: • Safety barrier on bridges

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Questions Barriers of first row are piled in? What there is underneath? Does Product Manual cover

these installation conditions?

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• Safety barrier on asphalt pavement

• Drainage ditches close to pavement edge line

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• Transitions from one to another barrier

• End terminal

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• Central reserve openings

How effective are the existing barriers?

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• Terminals

• Distance of obstacle from the road edge line

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Other usual problems: Soil categories

Selection criteria of barriers between numerous CE marked products are placed on market

The large number of existing road sections with roadside configurations they do not meet the modern principals and requirements for road safety

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

FAQ in Greece for the implementation of EN 1317: • How can be faced all these cases that are usual in Greek roads

in terms of road safety?

• Are all CE marked products suitable for these particular installation cases?

• Is there any contradiction between Guidelines for Road Design and EN 1317 as well as harmonized Guidelines for Road Restraint Systems?

• Which can be the selection criteria of products?

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

and finally:

• Is it possible the implementation of EN 1317 in Greece and especially in existing road sections?

• Is it possible to ask for an exception of the guideline and the EN 1317?

• Do we need exception rules?

• The cost of RRS is prohibitive high?

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Answers to FAQ:

• YES, there are solutions and the implementation of EN 1317 in Greece is possible!

• The cost of the certified products is not prohibitive In case of motorway is approximately 35.000 €/km according to indicative prices This amount includes the cost of all types of restraint systems, i.e. safety barriers, transitions, terminals, RBS and crash cushions

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

• Since the implementation of EN 1317 is possible in existing road sections it’s also possible for new projects

• From my experience with big projects concern existing road sections I would say that

in order to face successfully all the above issues we need to proceed with the following steps:

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Step 1: Proper implementation of the National Installation Guidelines for the definition of barriers performance and installation lengths.

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Step 2: Data collection on current conditions of existing road sections where road restraint systems are to be installed, such as Verge width Drainage ditches close to pavement edge line Distance of obstacle from the road edge line Plinth height on bridges Installation on asphalt pavement etc

Note: The particularity of existing roads is that we don't know the exact current installation conditions while in roads under design preparation, we define the installation conditions.

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Step 3: Evaluation and selection of restraint systems, which should be based on their total performance i.e. containment level, impact severity level, and deformation class. But in addition the following parameters – factors shall be considered:

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

• Modularity Modular systems consist of the same main components and have the same working mechanism during impact

• Systems test length (L1) Increased length results in longer applications and thus cost of Installation and maintenance cost per running meter

• Systems weight per running meter Increased weight results in increased costs

• Compatibility with existing CE certified systems

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• Impact loads transferred to the bridge deck by restraint systems and measured during impact test (EN 1317-2)

• Detailed installation manuals Installation conditions should covered by installation manual

• Existence of transitions and terminals (tested if possible) • Whether systems are new generation systems

New generation systems combine high performance and excellent impact characteristics

• Existence more than one producers for each module of barriers

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Benefits by following the above process: • Same components for all barrier configurations

• Easy assembly

• Easy replacement, warehousing and handling

• Limited number of spare parts easy maintenance logistics

• No dangerous spots due to homogeneity of connections

• Minimized number of transitions

• Homogeneity on road sections simple maintenance

• Minimized maintenance cost

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Summary: • The Harmonization of National Guidelines for Safety Systems

to EN 1317 is an important step to improve safety level on roads within EU-Territories and the decrease of the number of fatal accidents

• it is obvious that there is an understanding problem but it is not right to require systems according to the Norm but without

changing the cross-section of existing roads and/or to ask for an exemption of the guideline, just because it is the

easiest way

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

• We have to face the problems and to look for the barriers which solve this problem due to their specific crash-test.

• CE marking does not guarantee suitability of products for all installation conditions.

Therefore in special cases the system must be tested under the installation conditions in order to assure that its performance is not changed and Installation manual should updated after the verification of NB that system covers the use conditions

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Conclusions: in consequence of the before described it should be necessary for the implementation of EN 1317

• EU-data base with all CE marked products with

their technical characteristics, e.g. systems height, components cross section, material etc.

installation manual CE certificates

• EU-basic Guidelines for the Roadside configurations

12-13 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

Thanks for the attention!