Abstract
Gravel arrester beds have been a recognised safety device for runaway trucks with failed brakes for several decades. Research in the U.S., Australia and Europe has measured their effectiveness for frontal entry of trucks. Some of the research has also included comparative deceleration characteristics for cars with frontal entry.
Gravel arrester beds have also been installed as a safety device on race tracks for over 15 years, however, there has been some disagreement as to their effectiveness. This is possibly partly due to a lack of research or published research. A literature review failed to find any research on the effectiveness of gravel arrester beds for car derivatives with a lateral component of motion.
This paper reports on two series of gravel arrester bed tests with a sports car derivative entering the bed sideways.
Overall, the research found a consistent deceleration in the order of 1g could be obtained as long as there was at least a small component of sideways or lateral motion of the vehicle. The non-directional dependent nature of the deceleration seemed to be associated with early underbody contact with the gravel.