Runaway truck ramp

A runaway truck ramp on the A7 in Germany

A runaway truck ramp, runaway truck lane, escape lane, emergency escape ramp or truck arrester bed is a traffic device that enables vehicles that are having braking problems to safely stop. It is typically a long, sand or gravel-filled lane adjacent to a road with a steep down-hill grade, and is designed to accommodate large trucks. The deep filling allows the truck's kinetic energy to be dissipated in a controlled and relatively harmless way, allowing the operator to stop it safely.

Design

Emergency escape ramps are typically located in mountainous areas which cause high construction costs and present difficult site selection.[1] Designs include:

Location

Emergency escape ramps are usually located on steep, sustained grades, as in mountainous areas.[1] Long descending grades allow high vehicle speeds to be reached, and truck brakes can overheat and fail through extensive use. The ramps are often built before a critical change in the curvature of the road, or before a place that may require the vehicle to stop, such as before an intersection in a populated area.[2] These can vary from one region/country to another however.

Gallery

See also

References

External links

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