Texas Transportation Institute Spotlights Need for Storefront Barrier Standards

Infographic: Texas Transportation Institute

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) added its voice today to the call for prevention of storefront crashes in its article, 'Parking Is a Full-Time Job', published online.

TTI Assistant Agency Director Dean Alberson — who led the team that developed the ASTM testing standard used by the U.S. State Department to help protect embassies and other facilities from vehicle crashes — noted that while storefront crashes are preventable, businesses should install vehicle barriers that meet an effectiveness standard. Otherwise, the barrier might not work as a business intended.

“We have the expertise and facilities needed to codify the new standard for storefront crashes,” Alberson said in the TTI article. “We’ll be conducting tests for manufacturers who want to prove their products meet the new ASTM standard we’re currently developing.”

TTI completed a longer paper on the issue this week — 'Data Analysis and Prevention of Vehicle-Into-Building Crashes: An examination into the frequency of vehicle-into-building crashes and a solution to protect people from such accidents' — co-authored by Alberson, TTI Graduate Assistant Researcher Felicia J. Desorcie, E.I.T., and Storefront Safety Council co-founder & Blockaides Inc. consultant Rob Reiter.

I'll post a link to that larger paper when it becomes available online.