A crash test of an anti-terrorist barrier will be featured at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, on "Pennsylvania Inside Out" on WPSU-TV. The segment will show the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute's (PTI) Crash Safety Research Center testing a new type of roadway barrier designed to stop terrorist vehicles. The barrier, called an Arrestor, was designed by PRO Barrier Engineering LLC of Hummelstown. The company claims the barrier is lighter than existing barriers and is capable of stopping a 15,000-pound truck at 50 mph.
"Our barrier has a lightweight, hollow shell containing ultra-strong, energy-absorbing bands," Tom Potter, company president, said in a release. "When impacted, the shell collapses while the bands stretch and absorb the vehicle's kinetic energy, demolishing the attacking vehicle." The WPSU-TV segment also will feature interviews with Zoltan Rado, the center's director and director of PTI's Vehicle Systems and Safety Program, and Robin Tallon, the center's coordinator. The test of the Arrestor barrier was carried out at PTI's test track facility at the end of October.