page_title: Impact attenuator
section_title: Crash cushions
hierarchical_section_title: Impact attenuator / Types / Non-gating / Crash cushions
caption_attribution_description: English: Redirective Parallel Crash Cushion System installed on Italian motorway Italiano: Attenuatore d'urto redirettivo installato in autostrada
context_page_description: An impact attenuator, also known as a crash cushion, crash attenuator, or cowboy cushion, is a device intended to reduce the damage to structures, vehicles, and motorists resulting from a motor vehicle collision. Impact attenuators are designed to absorb the colliding vehicle's kinetic energy. They may also be designed to redirect the vehicle away from the hazard or away from roadway machinery and workers. Impact attenuators are usually placed in front of fixed structures near highways, such as gore points, crash barrier introductions, or overpass supports. Temporary versions may be used for road construction projects.
  If no impact attenuator is present, a vehicle which strikes a rigid roadside object will suddenly stop. A person inside will promptly collide with the interior of the vehicle, and that person's internal organs will collide with their chest wall, causing severe internal injuries and possibly death. By safely dissipating the vehicle's kinetic energy, impact attenuators help prevent such injuries.
context_section_description: Crash cushions are constructed of multiple segments, which crumple into each other when collided with to absorb the impact. Their main benefit is in their reusability; these attenuators can automatically return to their original position after a crash.
caption: A crash cushion installed on a motorway exit in Europe
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