The SAFER Barrier

  • gray car crash
  • raceway
  • crashing-racecar
  • concrete-raceway-barrier
  • racecar

The Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) Barrier System was designed to absorb and reduce kinectic energy during the impact of an accident and lessen driver injury. It was first installed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002. The SAFER Barrier has the following patents: Faller, R.K., Sicking, D.L., Rohde, J.R., Reid, J.D., Keller, E.A., Bielenberg, R.W., Holloway, J.C., Addink, K.H., and Polivka, K.A., High-Impact, Energy-Absorbing Vehicle Barrier System, U.S. Patent No. 6,926,461 B1, August 9, 2005. Faller, R.K., Rohde, J.R., Sicking, D.L., Bielenberg, R.W., Reid, J.D., Holloway, J.C., and Polivka, K.A., High-Impact, Energy-Absorbing Vehicle Barrier System, U.S. Patent No. 7,410,320 B2, August 12, 2008.

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SAFER Wall Key Points

  • Rectangular structural steel tubes are stacked vertically and welded together to form unified modules 20 feet in length and 38-1/2 inches high. All Steel components are galvanized, and the track face of the steel tube modules are painted to match the existing concrete barrier wall.
  • Individual steel tube modules are joined together by heavy steel internal splices, located within each tube on either side of the joint, a continuous, uninterrupted wall is created. These internal splices are designed to be unbolted and disengaged from the joint so that any one (or more) modules may be quickly removed and replaced in case of damage resulting after an impact.
  • Bundles of extruded, closed cell polystyrene, which provide much of the system's energy management, are placed between the rigid concrete barrier wall and the stell tubes every 10 feet.
  • Three 3/8-inch diameter cables, which retain the steel tubes alignment with the concrete barrier wall, are placed every 10 feet.

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    SAFER Barrier Awards

  • 2004 Inaugural Pioneering and Innovation Award, Development of the SAFER Barrier, Presented to Tony George and to the Creators of the SAFER Barrier (Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Presented at the 2004 Autosport Awards Banquet at the Grosvenor House, London, United Kingdom, December 5, 2004.
  • 2004 Pocono Raceway Bill France, Sr., Award of Excellence, Development of the SAFER Barrier, Presented to the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Presented at the 2004 Pocono 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Awards Banquet at Pocono, Pennsylvania, June 12, 2004.
  • 2004 Herb Porter Indianapolis Memorial Motor Speedway Award, Development and Implementation of the SAFER Barrier, Presented to Brian Barnhart, Dr. Dr. Henry Bock, Phil Casey, Dr. Ron Faller, Leo Mehl, John Pierce, and Dr. Dean Sicking, Presented at the2004 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum AUTO RACING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY and the Indianapolis 500 Oldtimers SPECIAL RECOGNITION DINNER at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana, Total Award of $2,000, May 21, 2004.
  • 2003 NASCAR Bill France, Jr., Award of Excellence, Development of the SAFER Barrier, Presented to the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Presented at the 2003 Winston Cup Awards Banquet at New York City, New York, December 5, 2003.
  • 2003 R&D Top 100 Award, The Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Barrier System (SAFER Barrier), Presented to Faller, R.K., Sicking, D.L., Rohde, J.R., Reid, J.D., Holloway, J.C., and Polivka, K.A., of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Presented by R&D Magazine at the Awards Banquet at Chicago’s Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2003.
  • 2002 SEMA Motorsports Engineering Award, Development of the SAFER Barrier, Presented to the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and the Indy Racing League/Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sponsored by Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in conjunction with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the 2002 Motorsports Engineering Conference and Exhibition, Indianapolis, Indiana, December 3, 2002.
  • 2002 Best of What’s New Award (BOWN) and Top 100 Tech Innovations 2002, SAFER Barrier, Automotive Technology Category, Popular Science Magazine, December 2002 Issue.
  • 36th Annual Louis Schwitzer Award, Development of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) Barrier - Sicking, D.L., Rohde, J.R., Reid, J.D., Faller, R.K., and Holloway, J.C., Presented by the Indiana Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and BorgWarner, BorgWarner provided $5,000, May 2002.

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    SAFER Barrier Papers

  • Reid, J.D., Bielenberg, R.W., Faller, R.K., Lechtenberg, K.A., and Sicking, D.L., Racetrack SAFER Barrier on Temporary Concrete Barriers, International Journal of Crashworthiness, Taylor & Francis, Volume 18, Number 4, May 2013, pages 343-355.
  • J.D. Reid and R.W. Bielenberg, Modeling Rebound of Foam Backed Racetrack Barrier, 10th International LS-DYNA Users Conference, Dearborn, MI, June 2008, pp. 6-43 to 6-50.
  • Faller, R.K., Bielenberg, R.W., Sicking, D.L., Rohde, J.R., and Reid, J.D., Development and Testing of the SAFER Barrier - Version 2, SAFER Barrier Gate, and Alternative Backup Structure, Paper No. 2006-01-3612,Publication No. P-399, Proceedings of the 2006 SAE Motorsports Engineering Conference and Exhibition, Dearborn, Michigan, December 5-7, 2006.
  • Melvin, J.W., Begeman, P.C., Faller, R.K., Sicking, D.L., McClellan, S.B., Maynard, E., Donegan, M.W., Mallott, A.M., and Gideon, T.W., Crash Protection of Stock Car Racing Drivers - Application of Biomedical Analysis of Indy Car Crash Research, Stapp Car Crash Journal No. 50, 415-428, Paper No. 2006-22-0016, The Stapp Association, 50th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Dearborn, Michigan, November 6-8, 2006.
  • Bielenberg, R.W., Rohde, J.R., and Reid, J.D., Design of the Safer Emergency Gate Using LS-DYNA, IMECE2005-81078, Proceedings of IMECE'05, 2005 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, November 5-11, 2005, Orlando, Florida USA.
  • Bielenberg, R.W., Faller, R.K., Sicking, D.L., Rohde, J.R., Reid, J.D., Polivka, K.A., and Holloway, J.C., Initial In-Service Performance Evaluation of the SAFER Racetrack Barrier, Paper No. 2004-01-3526,Publication No. P-392, Proceedings of the 2004 SAE Motorsports Engineering Conference and Exhibition, Dearborn, Michigan, November 30 through December 2, 2004.
  • Bielenberg, R.W. and Reid, J.D., Modeling of Crushable Foam for the SAFER Racetrack Barrier, 8th International LS-DYNA Users Conference, Simulation 2004, Dearborn, MI, May 2-4, 2004.
  • Reid, J.D., Faller, R.K., Holloway, J.C., Rohde, J.R., and Sicking, D.L., A New Energy-Absorbing High-Speed Safety Barrier, Paper No. 03-2218, Transportation Research Record No. 1851, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 2003.
  • Reid, J.D., Faller, R.K., and Sicking, D.L., High-Speed Crash Barrier Investigation Using Simulation, Crashworthiness, Occupant Protection, and Biomechanics in Transportation Systems - 2000, Applied Mechanics Division (AMD) - Vol. 246, BED - Vol. 49, 2000 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Orlando, Florida, November 5-10, 2000.

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    Additional SAFER Images

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