Mash Compliant New Zealand

Mash Compliant New Zealand

MASH, the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware, is AASHTO's crash testing standard for roadside hardware like barriers, terminals, and crash cushions. A product that is MASH compliant has been crash tested and evaluated against this criteria, which assesses how a barrier performs during a vehicle impact, including occupant risk, structural integrity, and vehicle trajectory after impact.

Austroads has been transitioning road safety hardware standards from NCHRP 350 to MASH across Australia. While the transition timeline can vary by state and road authority, MASH compliant products are increasingly required for new installations, so it is worth confirming current requirements with the relevant road authority for a specific project.

TL3 (Test Level 3) tests barriers against an 1,100kg car and a 2,270kg utility, both at 100km/h and 25 degrees. It is the standard test level for higher speed roads.

TL4 (Test Level 4) includes the TL3 tests plus a 10,000kg single unit truck at 90km/h and 15 degrees. It is used where a higher proportion of heavy vehicle traffic is expected.

NCHRP 350 was the previous crash testing standard used across the Australia. MASH replaced it with updated testing criteria, including heavier and different test vehicles that better reflect the modern vehicle fleet, along with revised impact conditions and evaluation criteria.