Truck Mounted Attenuators Enhance Highway Safety

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is expanding the National Highways network while raising safety standards to a global level. Infrastructure development is presented as the dual objective of faster connectivity and protection of lives on the roads. In line with this approach, advanced safety systems such as Truck Mounted Attenuators (TMAs) have been deployed on several highway sections to protect workers and road users.\n\nMaintenance and construction zones on busy highways are among the most vulnerable areas where speeding vehicles and limited visibility increase accident risk. MoRTH has urged concessionaires to adopt advanced safety interventions, and one concessionaire has deployed TMAs with integrated wig-wag warning systems. The concessionaire operates and manages nine National Highway projects covering a cumulative length of 681 kilometres across Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.\n\nTruck Mounted Attenuators are impact-absorbing devices that absorb and dissipate kinetic energy in a collision, reducing the force of impact. The systems are intended to protect maintenance crews working ahead of a vehicle, to reduce injury risks for occupants of an impacting vehicle and to minimise accident severity in work zones. Across the nine projects, 33 TMAs and 15 towable TMAs have been installed, all complying with globally recognised safety standards including MASH Test Level-3 and NCHRP 350 Test Level-3. The units are designed to withstand impacts at speeds of up to 100 km/h.\n\nThe deployed units feature high-intensity wig-wag warning lights that flash in alternating patterns to form directional arrows and provide timely warnings to approaching drivers. This functionality is especially useful on high-speed corridors, during night-time operations and in foggy or low-visibility conditions. By alerting drivers well in advance, the systems help prevent collisions before they occur.\n\nThe initiative illustrates MoRTH's commitment to implementing global best practices and ensuring safer highways. As the network grows, safety measures such as TMAs are positioned as central to development that prioritises safe journeys and protected workers.

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