Refer to: HSA-10/WZ-170 

Mr. John Richardson 

President, Premier Plastics, Ltd. 

8328 River Way 

Delta, British Columbia V4G 1C4 Canada 

Dear Mr. Richardson: 

Thank you for your letter of November 27, 2003, requesting Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) acceptance of your company’s “Road Runner” portable traffic barricades as 

crashworthy traffic control devices for use in work zones on the National Highway System 

(NHS). Accompanying your letter were reports of crash testing conducted by Karco Engineering 

and video clips of the test. You requested that we find these 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.” 

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 

are those lightweight devices which are to be self-certified by the vendor, Category II devices are 

other lightweight devices which need individual crash testing but with reduced instrumentation, 

Category III devices are barriers and other fixed or heavy devices also needing crash testing with 

normal instrumentation, and Category IV devices are trailer mounted lighted signs, arrow panels, 

etc. for which crash testing requirements have not yet been established. 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 devices follows: 

The Premier Plastics Road Runner UT portable traffic safety barricades have a rectangular base 

and taper to the top, giving them a trapezoidal side profile. Each unit is approximately 980 mm 

(3.2 feet) high and has a base that measures 1700 mm (5.6 feet) long and 760 mm (2.5 ft) wide. 

While these barriers have hollow walls to allow them to be filled with water, this test was run 

without water. The weight of each unit was 25 kg (55 pounds.) For use near high-speed traffic, 

a maximum of 45 pounds of water is recommended to bring the total weight of the barricade unit 

to 100 pounds. A drawing is enclosed for reference. 
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Testing 

Full-scale automobile testing was conducted on your company’ 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. Each unit had a 

Flex-o-lite Paralta warning light attached. 

The tests are summarized in the table below. 

Test Number TR-P23140-01-NC 

Device Tested “Road Runner” portable traffic barricades 

Weight of Tested Device 25 kg 

Height 980 mm 

Flags? Lights? Flexolite Paralta flashing lamp 

Mass of Test Vehicle 790 kg 

Impact Speed 100.95 km/hr 

Velocity Change 7.35 km/hr 

Occupant impact speed 2.0 meters per second 

Extent of contact Light came off , hit hood, 

went over windshield 

No contact with vehicle 

Windshield Damage No contact No Contact 

Findings 

Damage caused by test device was negligible. Both barricade segments were pushed ahead of 

the test vehicle. No contact was made with the windshield by any part of the barricades. The 

warning light lens separated from the first barricade unit and impacted the hood. It then flew 

over the windshield without making further contact with the automobile. You subsequently 

recommended that the existing 1⁄2 inch bolt be replaced by a 6 1⁄2 inch long, 1⁄2 inch diameter bolt 

to accommodate the thickness of the unit. Also, a 3 1⁄2 inch diameter galvanized steel plate with 

a 2 inch fender washer should be placed near the bolt head. 

The results of the testing met FHWA requirements and, therefore, the devices described above 

and detailed in the enclosed drawings are acceptable for use as Type I or Type II barricades on 

NHS under the range of conditions tested, when proposed by a State. Note that retroreflective 

sheeting is required by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD, Figure 6F-7). 

Also note that this acceptance only covers the use of “Road Runner” units as stand alone 

barricades. Additional testing is required if you wish to market these devices, when linked 

together, as longitudinal channelizing barricades. 

Please note the following standard provisions that 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 MUTCD. 

• Any changes that may adversely influence the crashworthiness of the device will require 

a new acceptance letter. 
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• Should 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-170 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. 

• The “Road Runner” portable traffic barricades are patented devices 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 by a highway 

agency for use on Federal-aid 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. These 

provisions do not apply to exempt non-NHS projects. Our regulations concerning 

proprietary products are contained in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 

635.411, a copy of which is enclosed. 

• This acceptance letter shall not be construed as authorization or consent by the FHWA to 

use, manufacture, or sell any patented device. Patent issues are to be resolved by the 

applicant and the patent owner. 

Sincerely yours, 

 

 

John R. Baxter, P.E. 

Director, Office of Safety Design 

 Office of Safety 

Enclosure 
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FHWA:HSA-10:NArtimovich:tb:x61331:1/28/04 

File: h://directory folder/nartimovich/WZ170-PremierPlasticsFIN 

cc: HSA-10 (Reader, HSA-1; Chron File, HSA-10; 

 N. Artimovich, HSA-10)