FAHRZEUG GEBUNDENER AUFPRALLDÄMPFER

A crash impact attenuator designed to be mounted on a service truck or other vehicle including a perimeter band, preferably with an elongated profile having generally arcuate ends spaced from each other and interconnected by opposing links of side walls. At substantially the center of the side walls, a loop of cable or similar high tension material is provided to limit any separation of the side walls from each other. Considering one of the two arcuate ends of the perimeter band as constituting the front of the crash impact attenuator and the other of the two arcuate ends of the perimeter band as constituting the back of the crash impact attenuator, the front of the attenuator is bolted or otherwise connected to the service vehicle to be protected it from impact and the rear of the impact attenuator cantilevers out from the rear of the service vehicle and spaced above the surface over which the service vehicle is traveling. The crash impact attenuator is held in the cantilever position by a cable extending from the rear of the crash impact attenuator to a boom or other standard provided on the rear of the service vehicle. At the front of the crash impact attenuator, two side-by-side cylinders are mounted inside the perimeter band. The two front cylinders are of a size that they are spaced from the cable loop. The rear of the crash impact attenuator has a third cylinder mounted inside the perimeter band and spaced from the cable loop. A grabber mechanism is mounted at the rear of the crash impact attenuator to direct errant vehicles into the attenuator in order to prevent them from rebounding off the system back into the flow of traffic. The entire system is open, devoid of any filler.