I – Speed class

During crash tests, the behaviour of the column in the event of a vehicle impact is checked at two speeds: 35 km/h - a mandatory test at low speed and at the target speed, which is recorded in the certificate symbol, speed classes are selected between 50 km/h, 70 km/h i 100 km/h.

SAL columns, with the height and diameter parameters given above, meet the requirements of the PN-EN 12767:2019 standard in the event of a vehicle impact at a speed of 50, 70 i 100 km/h.

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II – Energy absorption category

In this respect, there are three categories of energy absorption

The NE category describes structures that do not absorb impact energy. Compared to energy-absorbing lighting columns, non-energy-absorbing columns pose a lower immediate risk of injury.

III – Occupant safety class

The PN-EN 12767:2019 standard defines 5 levels of safety: A, B, C, D or E. The highest category - A - is reserved for harmless road infrastructure elements, such as, for example, bollards made of plastic, which undergo temporary deformation after being driven over by the vehicle (this class is reserved only for structures classified as not absorbing energy during a collision - NE).

For lighting columns, practically the highest possible safety level is B.
The SAL columns from the discussed example guarantee safety at level B.

IV – Backfill type

The type of column foundation may affect passive safety; therefore this aspect is also taken into account when classifying the structure. The PN-EN 12767:2019 standard establishes three types of column foundation in the ground:

- S (standard filling)
- R (rigid surface, e.g. asphalt, concrete)
- X (founding method according to the manufacturer's special guidelines)

The column discussed in the example was installed in the ground (S – standard filling) with parameters consistent with the guidelines of the standard.

V – Collapse mode

There are two modes indicating how the column behaves after a collision with the part mounted in the ground (NE - no separation and SE - separation), regardless of whether it is a column with a base placed on the foundation or adapted for installation directly in the ground. Our columns are SE qualified, which means that during an impact, the column will be sheared at the baseand thus separate from the part installed in the ground.

VI – Direction class (impact)

The direction class describes the structure in terms of maintaining passive safety features depending on the direction from which it will be hit. There are three classes:

SD – single-directional, i.e. the column meets the features of passive safety in the event of an impact from one direction (e.g. one-way road)
BD – bi-directional, i.e. the column meets the safety features in the event of an impact from two directions (e.g. two-way road)
MD – multi-directional, i.e. the column retains the features of passive safety during impact from all directions.

As you can easily guess, MD class is the safest choice. This parameter was achieved by ROSA columns.

VII – Risk of roof indentation

A major threat to passengers when hitting a column is the deformation of the vehicle's roof. This is why this aspect is also assessed when determining the passive safety classification. There are two classes:

Class 0 - no risk or low risk of roof dents
Class 1 - high risk of roof dents
Our columns have class 0.

When checking the passive safety classification, the marking "NR" may also appear in places that are not required for a given project. In some cases, particular properties, such as post-crash behaviour, may not be relevant to a given design.