Suomen törmäyskoepalvelu

Euro Kari Oy
Suomen törmäyskoepalvelu
Kari Laakso
Hirvitie 4 A
FI-00800 Helsinki
Finland
Tel: +358 50 5125244
e-mail: firstname.lastname@tormays.fi
VAT-number: FI 09001261

Suomen Törmäyskoepalvelu performs impact tests for road restrain systems such as road barriers and support structures like lighting columns, traffic signs and delineator posts. Suomen Törmäyskoepalvelu is a testing laboratory T291 accredited by FINAS Finnish Accreditation Service, accreditation requirement SFS-EN ISO/IEC 17025.

Crash testing was started by Helsinki University of Technology (later Aalto University) in 1992. Aalto University went out of crash testing in 2013 and Suomen Törmäyskoepalvelu (Finnish Crash Test Service) was established to continue the crash test activity. "Suomen Törmäyskoepalvelu" is a part of the "Euro Kari" company which is founded in 1994.

Product Approval

Crash testing is a necessary part of the approval procedure of certain road furniture. If there is a harmonized standard the product needs CE-marking. The list of harmonized standards of road furniture can be found on the table below. An authorized third party (Notified Body) must be involved in the conformity assessment procedure. The list of notified bodies can be found at "Nando".

There is a national type-approval procedure for products which do not have harmonized standard. Usually there are no remarkable differences between the requirements of CE-marking and a national type-approval concerning the impact tests. The regulations for different properties of the product varies from country to country.

Crash Test

The test vehicle is sharply aimed against the test item at a fixed speed. There are several speed classes from 35 km/h to 110 km/h. The weight of the vehicle varies from 900 kg car to 38 ton articulated goods vehicle. The combination of the speed and the mass of the vehicle depends on the containment level the product is to achieve. Suomen Törmäyskoepalvelu is capable of performing tests up to a 16 ton vehicles (TB61).

The product under the impact must fulfill several requirements. Some of the requirements are of pass/fail type and some are used to classify the products. The basic requirements are that the product behaves as planned and the test vehicle does not roll over. The behaviour of the test item and vehicle is recorded with several high speed cameras.

The safety of the product is evaluated by two calculated value: ASI (Acceleration Severity Index) and THIV (Theoretical Head Impact Velocity). The data from acceleration and angular rate sensors are used to calculate the indeces. At the end of the year 2010 the standard for calculating the ASI was changed. New method may give a slightly different (higher) values than the old method.

The behaviour of the test item and the vehicle is recorded with several high speed cameras. The recordings are available for the customer.

Harmonized standards which refers to full scale crash test. Updated 14.6.2021
Standard number	Standard title	need for crash test
EN 1317-5	Road restraint systems. Part 5: Product requirements and evaluation of conformity for vehicle restraint systems	yes
EN 12899-1	Fixed, vertical road traffic signs. Part 1: Fixed signs	yes (if not safety class 0)
EN 12899-3	Fixed, vertical road traffic signs. Part 3: Delineator posts and retroreflectors	yes (if mass exceed 6 kg)
EN 12676-1	Anti-glare systems for roads. Part 1: Performance and characteristics	no (must be compatible with safety barrier)
EN 14388	Road traffic noise reducing devices. Specifications	no (if not used as safety barrier)
EN 40-4	Lighting columns. Part 4: Requirements for reinforced and prestressed concrete lighting columns	yes (if not safety class 0)
EN 40-5	Lighting columns. Part 5: Requirements for steel lighting columns	yes (if not safety class 0)
EN 40-6	Lighting columns. Part 6: Requirements for aluminium lighting columns	yes (if not safety class 0)
EN 40-7	Lighting columns. Part 7: Requirements for fibre reinforced polymer composite lighting columns	yes (if not safety class 0)