I had never seen the above video available on The Texas Tribune YouTube channel until this week. It shows a compilation of several views of a test done by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute of an anti-terrorist barrier.
A flat bed truck is seen crashing into a steel barrier. The engine and cab are completely demolished as the truck is stopped cold in its path.
Notice that the truck is loaded with more than half dozen 55-gallon drums to simulate the weight of explosives it might be hauling in a terrorist attack. What I found most interesting was the view from different angles and at different speeds.
You see the truck striking the barrier from five different angles. The first is at full speed from approximately a 45-degree angle off the driver’s front bumper.
Next, you can see the impact looking perpendicular at the passenger side from ground level. You actually see the hood and the windshield propelled forward from the force of the collision.
The next clip shows the view looking directly at the front of the vehicle as it approaches the barrier. The collapsing dual-side rear-view mirrors caught my eye just prior to watching the hood and windshield propelled forward from a different angle.
In my opinion, the view from a camera above the scene was the best. It shows the front of the truck as it is literally sliced by the barrier. It reminded me of easily slicing a roll or a bagel with a sharp knife.
The final view is again perpendicular to the truck. This time we are looking at the driver’s side of the truck. An accompanying article “At A&M, Researchers Crash Trucks to Test Barriers” laid out some details.
The truck was an ice cream delivery truck traveling at 50 mpg. The article points out that the “cab folds like an accordion”. I could not have found truer words to describe the destruction.
The test was conducted as part of a “contract with the U.S. State Department to test various ‘perimeter security devices’ installed at embassies and other facilities around the world.”
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