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                Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-97
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Work Zone Devices
                          **Code:**
            WZ-97
                          **Date:**
            10/31/2001
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            Highway Safety Products
                          **Device Description:**
            Various Dicke Tool Products
                          **View PDF:**
            wz97.pdf (33.14 KB)
    
    Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-97

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

       	    Refer To: HSA-10/WZ-97Ms. Theresa Steffler
Highway Safety Products
Radiator Specialty Company
P.O. Box 34689
Charlotte, NC  28234-4689
            Dear Ms. Steffler:
            Thank you for your letter of August 17 requesting  Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) acceptance of a number portable sign stands for roll-up  signs. Your company wishes to market  these stands as crashworthy traffic control devices for use in work zones on  the National Highway System (NHS) under your own company name. You referenced FHWA Acceptance Letters from  the manufacturer of the stands that document the crashworthiness of the  devices. You requested that we find those devices 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.”
            Your request was for a letter that specified the  Radiator Specialty Products part numbers only. Because the tests were conducted  for Dickie Tool Company, and all of the documentation we have on file  references the crash tested devices to Dickie Tool part numbers, we are not  able to comply with your request without specific reference to the Dickie Tool  devices and crash tests. Therefore we have included these references so that  potential users may review these letters and drawings to ensure that the stands  will meet their needs.
            **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  latest memorandum lists devices that are acceptable under Categories I, II, and  III.
            
            
            

              Following is a description of the devices with  Radiator Specialty Products part numbers, and reference to the FHWA Acceptance  Letter they are listed in:
              **1. Radiator  Part No. JS4000** 
                Accepted as DF4000 Stand in FHWA Acceptance letter  WZ-50 dated October 19, 2000.
                A heavy duty, double torsion spring mounted sign  support with a 1220 x 1220 mm sign mounted at a height of 305 mm from the  ground and with three wood-staffed flags mounted at a height of 2305 mm. This stand supported a RUNR48 non-reflective  vinyl roll‐up sign. Tested head-on and at 90 degrees.
              **2. Radiator Part No. JST50** 
                Accepted as T50 Tripod Stand in FHWA Acceptance  Letter WZ-50 dated October 19, 2000.
                Short Top Stand.  A tripod with the tops of the legs shortened, mounted portable sign  support with a 1220 x 1220 mm sign mounted at a height of 330 mm and without  flags. This stand supported a RUNR48  non-reflective vinyl roll‐up sign.
              **3. Radiator Part No. JS4700** 
                Accepted as  DF-4700TX stand in FHWA Acceptance Letter 25 dated May 24, 2000.
                A heavy-duty torsion spring mounted sign support  with a 1218 mm square vinyl sign mounted at 2134 mm above the pavement with  three wood-staffed flags mounted at 3835 mm.  The two-part aluminum mast extends to the top of the sign.
              **4. Radiator Part No. JL1000** 
                Accepted as DL1003W, QLV-W, or MSRIGID-30 stand in FHWA  Acceptance Letter 17 dated July 20, 1999
                A rigid mounted portable sign  support with a 1219 mm square vinyl sign mounted at a height of 356 mm and  three wood-staffed flags mounted at 2076 mm.
              **5.Radiator Part No. JS3000** 
                Accepted as DF3000WQ stand in FHWA Acceptance Letter  17 dated July 20, 1999.
                A double-torsion, spring mounted sign support with a  1216 mm x 1219 mm vinyl sign mounted at 368 mm and with two fiberglass-staffed  flags at 2083 mm.
              Details of the sign stands are in the attachments to  the various letters referenced above. These may be found on the FHWA web site  at:http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/fourthlevel/hardware/listing.cfm?code=workzone
              
              **Testing and Findings** 
                Full-scale automobile testing was  conducted on these portable sign stands and was documented in the  above-mentioned acceptance letters. During the tests the most extensive damage was  cracking of the windshield. However,  there was no occupant compartment intrusion or deformation observed, nor did  any test article debris show potential for penetrating the occupant  compartment. The results of this testing met the FHWA requirements and,  therefore, the devices listed above and detailed in the referenced Acceptance  Letters are acceptable for use on the NHS under the range of conditions tested  as NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 3 devices (except as noted), 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-97, shall not be reproduced  except in full.
                Some features  of the accepted sign stands may be  patented and 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 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

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WASHINGTON, DC 20590

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