Patent ID: 8882082

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 selectively 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.