VSB performance requirement
When tested under Clause 6, the barrier must stop the vehicle at the datum line, redirect it to the unprotected side, or halt it beyond the line so that it cannot drive on. A result beyond 25 metres earns no rating.
Basis. The public preview stops before this clause; the page states the published structure and the public guidance. The clause number and defined terms are the standard's; the explanation is our own.
What clause 4 asks
The clause states the performance requirement in three permitted forms. The barrier must prevent the test vehicle from advancing beyond the VSB datum line, or redirect the vehicle so that it remains on the non-protected side, or bring it to a halt beyond the datum line in a way that leaves it unable to progress under its own power. The test data that supports the outcome must be recorded in the report. Where the vehicle penetrates more than 25 metres beyond the datum line, a performance rating is not awarded.
Why it matters
This is an outcome clause, not a product clause. It does not ask for a particular mass, height or fixing. It asks what happened to the vehicle. That matters because a barrier can remain standing and still fail the outcome, for example when the vehicle is deflected into a crowd, spins around the end of the barrier, or keeps moving after the impact. The procurer should write the outcome into the specification in the same three forms and should ask the test house to state which form the test demonstrated.
What good looks like
Write the required outcome for each site before choosing a product: stop at the line, redirect away from the protected side, or halt beyond the line with the vehicle immobile. Record the protected side and the stand-off. Ask the test report to state the outcome and the post-impact condition of the vehicle. Do not accept a report that gives only a penetration number and no statement of what the vehicle did.
Evidence an assessor asks for
The reviewer will ask whether the vehicle was stopped, redirected or halted, and whether it could still be driven. A penetration figure alone does not answer the clause.
- Outcome statement The required outcome for the site, in one of the three forms the clause permits
- Protected side drawing The protected side, the approach path and the stand-off marked on the site plan
- Post-impact record Photographs and measurements showing where the vehicle came to rest and whether it could move
- Report wording The test house statement of the outcome, tied to the clause and the datum line
Where it commonly fails
- The barrier stays upright but the vehicle passes around its end and reaches the protected side
- The vehicle is halted but remains able to drive, so the third form is not met
- The report measures penetration but does not state the post-impact condition of the vehicle
- A result beyond 25 metres is presented as a rating with a long penetration rather than as no rating
What to do before the amendment publishes
Add the three permitted outcomes to the specification template and require the test house to name the one demonstrated. Check the last report against it.
Read across
- 1 Scope
- 6.7 Test procedure
- 7.1 Performance rating, general
- D Post-impact foundation and VSB measurements