Development of a Runaway Vehicle Protective Barrier System Using Simulation and Full-Scale Crash Testing

Effective road safety plays an important role in achieving sustainable development goals worldwide. A large number of accidents occur on roads every year, resulting in countless losses of people, vehicles, and roads; as such, the problem of loss of vehicle control has increasingly attracted the attention of scholars. Different vehicle protective measures, such as increasing the friction of tires or applying energy-absorbing materials, have been applied; however, their application is not yet fully effective. In this paper, a flexible protective barrier system is proposed for the protection of runaway vehicles, which can successfully stop the vehicle and ensure the safety of passengers. At the same time, the system can be recycled, which means that costs can be saved, to a certain extent. Accurate finite element simulation and real vehicle tests are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the protective system. The proposed flexible protection system is found to be effective in intercepting different types of runaway vehicles, while no major damage occurred to the vehicle itself, thus indirectly ensuring the safety of the occupants. The research lays a foundation for subsequent road safety protection and maintenance of sustainable development.