SAFER barrier

Common card · No. 471159

The Steel And Foam Energy Reduction Barrier (SAFER Barrier), sometimes generically referred to as a soft wall, is a technology found on oval automobile race tracks and high-speed sections of road and street tracks, intended to absorb and reduce kinetic energy during the impact of a high-speed crash, and thus, lessen injuries sustained to drivers and spectators. The SAFER barrier also lessens damage to the car itself, thereby reducing repair costs. After its introduction in 2002, nearly every oval track on the IndyCar and NASCAR circuits had the device installed by 2005. Road and street tracks apply SAFER barriers on high-speed cornering sections where space is limited. It was designed by a team of engineers at Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It was developed from 1998 to 2002, and first installed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2002. The SAFER Barrier and its developers have won several awards within the racing and engineering community, including...

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