Impact Attenuation Devices for Racing 1

Preliminary development and testing has been conducted on two energy-absorbing safety devices for racing circuits, termed the Fitch Inertial Barrier and the Compression Barrier. The first is an array of sacrificial modules, filled with sand and/or water progressively weighted. It is a racing version of inertial barriers used for 30 years on highways in 50 States. In its test, the Inertial Barrier recorded a 4.7 average G deceleration in 36 feet, compared with a 70 G deceleration for a car hitting a concrete barrier head-on with 2.3′ of crush. In the test of the compression barrier, 15 avg. longitudinal Gs were recorded in less than 3 feet of energy-absorption. It reduced the speed of the car by nearly half and reduced rebound by 5 degrees. The barrier self-restored after impact.