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MASH Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware

MASH presents uniform guidelines for crash testing permanent and temporary highway safety features and recommends evaluation criteria to assess test results.

MASH updates and replaces NCHRP Report 350. This manual is recommended for highway design engineers, bridge engineers, safety engineers, researchers, hardware developers, crash test laboratories, and others concerned with safety features used in the highway environment. Products addressed in MASH include longitudinal barriers, transitions, end terminals, crash cushions, breakaway supports, truck mounted attenuators, and work zone traffic control devices. The crash performance is judged on structural adequacy, occupant risk, and vehicle trajectory.

Significant Changes between NCHRP 350 and MASH

Topic NCHRP 350 MASH
Small car test vehicle 820C vehicle (1,800 lbs.) 1100C vehicle (2,420 lbs.)
Small car impact angle 20° 25°
Light truck test vehicle 2000P (4,400 lbs.) 2270P (5,000 lbs.)
Gating terminals and crash cushion impact angle 15° 5° - 15°
Variable message signs and arrow board trailers No mention Added to TMA crash test matrix
Support structure and work zone traffic control device testing Only small car tested Small car and light truck tested
Windshield damage criteria Subjective/Qualitative Objective/Quantitative
Vehicle rebound in crash cushion tests None Required

For More Information

MASH Eligible Products from TrafFix Devices

Delta TL-3 Crash Cushion and End Treatment

Delta® TL-3 Crash Cushion

The Delta TL-3 Crash Cushion is a MASH Tested, Passed, and Eligible Redirective Non-Gating crash cushion and end treatment from TrafFix Devices co-developed with University of Nebraska's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF).
Scorpion II Towable Attenuator

Scorpion II® TL-3 Towable Attenuator

The Scorpion II TL-3 Towable Attenuator from TrafFix Devices is the world's first MASH Tested, Passed, and Eligible Towable Attenuator.
Scorpion II Truck Mounted Attenuator

Scorpion II® TL-3 Truck Mounted Attenuator

The Scorpion II TMA from TrafFix Devices is the world's first MASH Tested, Passed, and Eligible Truck Mounted Attenuator.
Scorpion II® METRO Truck Mounted Impact Attenuator

Scorpion II® METRO TMA

The Scorpion II METRO TMA from TrafFix Devices is the only TL-2 Plus (50 mph / 80 kph) TMA that is MASH Tested and Passed. It is the ideal TMA for cities, counties, and urban districts with posted speeds of 50 mph (80 kph) or less.
Sentry Longitudinal Energy Dissipater (SLED)

SLED®

The Sentry Longitudinal Energy Dissipater (SLED) is a narrow, water-filled non-redirective gating crash cushion that is a MASH Tested, Passed, and Eligible.
ADA Wall Longitudinal Barricade

ADA Wall

The TrafFix ADA Wall is MASH Tested, Passed, and Eligible as a TL-3 Longitudinal Channelizing Device and creates ADA Compliant hand guided safe passages through work-zones.
Urbanite Longitudinal Barricade

Urbanite®

The TrafFix Urbanite is MASH Tested, Passed, and Eligible as a TL-3 Longitudinal Channelizing Device and is used to create hand guided safe passages through work zones.
TrafFix Water-Cable Barrier

TrafFix Water-Cable Barrier™

The TrafFix Water-Cable Barrier is designed with three molded in galvanized steel cables and has been MASH Tested, Passed and Eligible at TL-1 and TL-2 levels.

NCHRP 350 Sunset

On November 12, 2015, FHWA issued a memorandum indicating that all modifications to NCHRP 350-tested devices will require testing under MASH in order to receive a Federal-aid eligibility letter from FHWA. In addition, a Federal Register Notice was also issued regarding this action. This has provided a significant step toward the implementation of MASH.

December 31, 2017
W-Beam Barriers and cast-in-place Concrete Barriers.
June 30, 2018
W-Beam Terminals
December 31, 2018
Cable Barriers, Cable Barrier Terminals, and Crash Cushions
December 31, 2019
Bridge Rails, Transitions, All other Longitudinal Barriers (including portable barriers install permanently), all other Terminals, Sign Supports, and all other breakaway hardware