SAFER barrier
Encyclopedia
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
s and intended to make racing accidents safer. It was designed by a team of engineers led by Dean Sicking at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility , part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a research organization with a main focus of researching all aspects of highway design and safety...
at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The SAFER barrier consists of structural steel tubes welded together. Behind these tubes are bundles of closed-cell polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
foam, placed between the barrier and the concrete wall. The theory behind the design is that the barrier absorbs a portion of the kinetic energy
Kinetic energy
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
released when a race car
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
makes contact with the wall. This energy is dissipated along a longer portion of the wall, instead of propelling the car back into traffic on the track. The barrier is often installed in conjunction with a catch fence to improve the safety of spectators.
The SAFER barrier also lessens damage to the car itself, thereby reducing repair costs.
History
The SAFER system was developed by engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln starting in 1998, sponsored by the Indy Racing League. It was first installed at the Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
in 2002, in time for the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
and first "tested" by Robby McGehee
Robby McGehee
Robby McGehee is a Indy Racing League driver from St. Louis, Missouri. He won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1999 after finishing fifth and raced for veteran owner Fred Treadway the next few seasons...
in a crash during the first day of practice.
After successful usage at Indianapolis, the system began to be installed at several other tracks nationwide. By 2006, Every oval facility that hosted an IRL IndyCar Series
IndyCar Series
The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...
or NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Sprint Cup Series event included the SAFER barrier. In 2006, Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond International Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful...
became the first racetrack to install a SAFER barrier that extends around the outer circumference of the track, rather than retrofit one to a concrete wall in the turns. Most oval speedways more than a mile in length in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
have since installed the system.
An interesting challenge was presented with Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino...
. When officials came to install the barrier, they found the wall, which was made of steel and not concrete, would not support the system. Officials were able to install the system on the inside concrete wall successfully. After a re-design and further testing, the system was installed a year and a half later.
The barrier received its first road-course usage when Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...
adopted the SAFER barrier for key sections of the circuit, most notably in the bus stop chicane
Chicane
A chicane is an artificial feature creating extra turns in a road, used in motor racing and on city streets to slow cars to lower speeds.- Motor Racing :...
and Turn 11 for 2010.
The barrier made its Formula 1 debut at the 2002 United States Grand Prix
2002 United States Grand Prix
The 2002 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 29, 2002 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.-Summary:...
at Indianapolis. In preparation for the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix
2010 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix was the eighteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season...
, the barrier was placed in the last corner of the Interlagos
Interlagos
***Interlagos is an upper class neighborhood located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It includes the Autódromo José Carlos Pace race track, home of the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix...
track, making its international debut.
Other Forms of "Soft Walls"
- Cellofoam — This is an encapsulated polystyrene barrier—a block of plastic foam encased in polyethylene.
- Polyethylene Energy Dissipation System (PEDS) — This system uses small polyethylene cylinders inserted inside larger ones. Designers of PEDS believe the system increases the wall's ability to withstand crashes of heavy race cars. In 1998, a PEDS Barrier, was attached to the inside retaining wall at the exit of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Turn 4, marking the first time in the track's history that an entity designed to soften crashes was attached to its concrete walls.
- Impact Protection System (IPS) — This inner piece of the wall is then wrapped in a rubber casing. Holes are drilled in the concrete wall and cables are used to tie the segments to it.
- Compression barriers — This idea is to place cushioning materials, such as tires, water barrels, or sand barrels, against the concrete wall, and then cover those cushions with a smooth surface that would give when impacted, and then pop back out to its previous shape once the impact is over.