Patent ID: 8464825

Claim:
A crash attenuator comprising: a first end adapted to be releasably secured to a vehicle; a second end longitudinally spaced from said first end and including an impact member moveable in said longitudinal direction from a pre-impact position to an impact position; spaced apart first and second pairs of deformable attenuator members extending in a longitudinal direction, each of said deformable attenuator members having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein said proximal ends of said second pair of said deformable attenuator members are staggered downstream from said proximal ends of said first pair of said deformable attenuator members when said impact member is in said pre-impact position, and wherein said proximal ends of said first and second pairs of said deformable attenuator members are successively deformed as said impact member is moved to said impact position; and a deforming member engaged with at least a portion of at least one of said deformable attenuator members downstream of said impact member.