Patent ID: 7883075

Claim:
A terminal portion of a guardrail safety system comprising: a terminal portion of a guardrail beam comprising a downstream end and upstream end, the terminal portion of the guardrail beam sloping from a height appropriate for redirecting an errant vehicle to a height proximate the surface of the ground at an upstream end of the terminal portion; a plurality of support posts installed adjacent a roadway in spaced apart relation to one another, the plurality of support posts coupled to the terminal portion of the guardrail beam; and a terminal support post installed adjacent the roadway at an upstream end of the terminal portion of the guardrail beam, the terminal support post coupled to an upstream end of the terminal portion of the guardrail beam by a resistive, tensile coupling that maintains tension in the terminal portion of the guardrail beam, the resistive, tensile coupling maintained between the terminal support post and the guardrail beam during an end-on or re-directive impact by a vehicle, the resistive, tensile coupling released between the terminal support post and the guardrail beam during a reverse-direction impact, and wherein the resistive, tensile coupling comprises a connector assembly comprising a plurality of plates stacked adjacent to one another, at least one of the plurality of plates affixed to an end of the terminal support post, the plurality of plates comprising: a first plate comprising a rectangular plate with a V-shaped cut-out in an upper edge of the rectangular plate; a second plate comprising a rectangular plate with a circular shaped opening; and a third plate comprising a rectangular plate with a U-shaped cut-out in an upper edge of the third plate; and wherein the V-shaped cut-out, the circular opening, and the U-shaped cut-out are aligned with one another when the first, second, and third plates are stacked adjacent to one another.