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                Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-95
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Work Zone Devices
                          **Code:**
            WZ-95
                          **Date:**
            10/01/2001
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            United Rentals
                          **Device Description:**
            High SafetyCor X-Tube Speed Limit Sign #129
                          **View PDF:**
            wz95.pdf (74.2 KB)
    
    Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-104

            
            			
            DOT logoU.S. Departmentof Transportation**Federal Highway Administration**
                   	400 Seventh St., S.W.Washington, D.C.  20590

       	    Refer To: HSA-10/WZ-95Mr. Henry A. Ross, Director
Sales and Marketing
United Rentals Highway Technologies
880 North Addison Road
P.O. Box 7050
Villa Park, IL  60181-7050
            Dear Mr. Ross:
            Thank you for your letter of June 6 requesting  Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) acceptance of your company’s **High  SafetyCor X-Tube Speed Limit Sign** as crashworthy traffic control devices  for use in work zones on the National Highway System (NHS).  Accompanying your letter was a report of crash testing conducted by E-Tech  Testing Services along with a video of the tests. You requested that we find  this device acceptable for use on the NHS under the provisions of National  Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 “Recommended Procedures  for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features.”
            **Introduction**
              The FHWA guidance on crash  testing of work zone traffic control devices is contained in two  memoranda. The first, dated July 25,  1997, titled “INFORMATION: Identifying Acceptable Highway Safety  Features,” established four categories of work zone devices: Category I devices  were those lightweight devices which could be self-certified by the vendor,  Category II devices were other lightweight devices which needed individual crash testing, Category III  devices were barriers and other fixed or massive devices also needing crash  testing, and Category IV devices were trailer mounted lighted signs, arrow  panels, etc. The second guidance  memorandum was issued on August 28, 1998, and is titled “INFORMATION:  Crash Tested Work Zone Traffic Control Devices.” This later memorandum lists devices that are  acceptable under Categories I, II, and III.
            A brief description of the device  for which you are requesting acceptance follows:
            High SafetyCor X-Tube Speed Limit Sign is a lightweight portable sign  support made up of
              44.5 mm square “X-Tube” PVC  extrusions. The X-Tube uprights slip  into 57.2 mm perforated tube steel sockets welded to a support base. The support base is made up of 50.8 mm x 50.8  mm x 4.8 mm thick steel angle iron.
            The sign stand system features a  two high arrangement of 914 mm wide rectangular signs made of 10.2 mm thick  “SafetyCor”, an unfilled polypropylene copolymer corrugated plastic sheeting  material. Each sign is bolted to the  uprights with four 7.9 mm diameter ASTM A307 hex
            

              fasteners and special 38.1 mm  outside diameter rubber encased flat washers that increase the bearing area and  help to prevent sign damage when the stands are stacked. When deployed the bottom of the lowest sign  is nominally 1516 mm above the ground, and the overall height is 
                3662 mm to the top of the highest  sign. As tested, the stands weighed 36.1  kg, and had four 18 kg sand bags as ballast.  The four bags were placed at the ends of the supports.
              **Testing**
                Full-scale automobile testing was conducted on your  company’s devices. Two stand-alone examples of the device were tested in tandem,  one head-on and the next placed six meters downstream turned at 90 degrees, as  called for in our guidance memoranda.  The complete device as tested is shown in Enclosure 1.
          The crash test is summarized in the table below:
              Test Number
                  05-3721-013Test Article
                  High SafetyCor X-Tube Speed Limit SignHeight to Bottom of Sign
                  1516 mmHeight to Top of Lights
                  3662 mmFlags or lights
                  NoneTest Article Mass (each)
                  36.1 kgVehicle Inertial Mass
                  823 kgImpact Speed, Head-on
                  101.1 km/hrImpact Speed, 90 Deg.
                  97.7 km/hrVelocity Change, Head-on
                  0.94 m/sVelocity Change, 90 deg.
                  0.94 m/cVehicle crush
                  Slight damage to bumper, grill, hood, windshieldOccupant Compart. Intrusion
                  NoneWindshield Damage
                  General cracking, some broken glass in occupant    compartment**Findings**
          Damage was limited to cosmetic  sheet metal damage, with moderate cracking of the windshield. There were no  holes or deformation of the windshield glass, nor was the damage extensive  enough to impair the driver’s visibility.  The results of the testing met the FHWA requirements and, therefore, the  devices described above and shown in the enclosed drawings for reference are  acceptable for use as Test Level 3 devices on the NHS under the range of  conditions tested, when proposed by a State.
              
              

            Please note the following  standard provisions which apply to FHWA letters of acceptance:
            Our  acceptance is limited to the crashworthiness characteristics of the devices and  does not cover their structural features, nor conformity with the Manual on  Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
            	Any  changes that may adversely influence the crashworthiness of the device will  require a new acceptance letter.
                Should  the FHWA discover that the qualification testing was flawed, that in-service  performance reveals unacceptable safety problems, or that the device being  marketed is significantly different from the version that was crash tested, it  reserves the right to modify or revoke its acceptance.
              You  will be expected to supply potential users with sufficient information on  design and installation requirements to ensure proper performance.
              You  will be expected to certify to potential users  that the hardware furnished has essentially the same chemistry,  mechanical properties, and geometry as that submitted for acceptance, and that  they will meet the crashworthiness requirements of FHWA and NCHRP Report 350.
			To  prevent misunderstanding by others, this letter of acceptance, designated as  number WZ-95 shall not be reproduced except in full. This letter, and the test documentation upon  which this letter is based, is public information. All such letters and documentation may be  reviewed at our office upon request.
              United  Rentals work zone traffic control devices may include patented components and  if so are considered  "proprietary." The use of  proprietary work zone traffic control devices in Federal-aid projects is  generally of a temporary nature. They  are selected by the contractor for use as needed and removed upon completion of  the project. Under such conditions they  can be presumed to meet requirement "a" given below for the use of  proprietary products on Federal-aid projects. On the other hand, if proprietary devices are specified for use on  Federal-aid projects, except exempt, non-NHS projects, they: (a) must be  supplied through competitive bidding with equally suitable unpatented items;  (b) the highway agency must certify that they are essential for synchronization  with existing highway facilities or that no equally suitable alternative exists  or; (c) they must be used for research or for a distinctive type of  construction on relatively short sections of road for experimental  purposes. Our regulations concerning  proprietary products are contained in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations,  Section 635.411, a copy of which is enclosed.
            
			  
            Sincerely yours,
                   	  
                   	  Frederick G. Wright, Jr.Program Manager, SafetyEnclosure   
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