Technical Notes

Car Impact Barriers for Elevated Structures

ƒ Wheel stops should not be relied upon to prevent

cars falling off elevated structures.

ƒ Impact barriers must be provided.

ƒ Impact barriers must satisfy the load requirements

of Australian Standard AS 1170.1 - 2002

Vehicle Impact Barriers for

Elevated Structures
Result of an Inquest
by Peter J. Taylor

Date of Issue: July, 2009

VEHICLE IMPACT BARRIERS BY PETER J. TAYLOR

Vehicle Impact Barriers

by Peter J. Taylor

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Wheel Stops

3. Vehicle Barriers

4. The Coroner’s Conclusion

5. Comments

6. References

Appendix 1: AS 1170, Part 1 – 1981

Appendix 2: AS/NZS 1170.1 – 2002

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1. Introduction
1.1 In January 2009, the Deputy State Coroner issued his findings into the death of Mr.
Thomas Lee, who in 2006 reversed his car into a car space on the second storey of a
multi-storey Sydney car park, and collided with the external steel barrier which failed.
Mr Lee’s car fell some nine metres to the ground below, and he was killed. (Ref 1).

1.2 Peter Taylor of TLB Engineers was an expert witness in the Coroner’s Court.

1.3 During the inquest, evidence was given that the car park was built in 1986 and the
vehicle barriers should have been designed and constructed to withstand loads in
accordance with the requirements of the Australian Standard AS 1170.1 – 1981.
(Appendix 1 and Reference 3).

1.4 It was found that the structural design of the steel barriers did not meet the 1981 SAA
Code loading requirements for impact from cars. There was a suggestion that some
reliance for vehicle restraint may have been placed on pre-cast concrete wheel
stops, although these were not present at the ends of aisles where the barrier was
the only restraint. In any event, it was found by calculation that the steel barriers
which may have appeared to have been substantial to a lay person, were not even
structurally adequate for pedestrian loading in accordance with AS 1170.1 – 1981.

2. Wheel Stops
2.1 The 150mm high pre-cast concrete wheel stop did not prevent Mr. Lee’s car from
impacting the steel barrier.

2.2 The 1971 and 1981 versions of AS 1170.1 stated: ‘Note: Special consideration
should be given to the design of kerbings and guard rails to alleviate possible vehicle
impact on the structure’. (Refer to Appendix 1 and References 2 and 3).

2.3 During the inquest evidence was given that in some buildings there was complete
reliance on wheel stops only to restrain vehicles.

2.4 The Coroner’s opinion was that this was an erroneous interpretation of the SAA Code
(AS 1170.1 – 1981), and consequently, the steel barriers should have been designed
to withstand vehicle impact as if the wheel stops were not present.

3. Vehicle Barriers
3.1 Barriers are intended to minimise the risk of injury to persons by containing moving
vehicles, especially on elevated floor slabs.

3.2 The SAA Codes recommend minimum lateral loads and heights of load application
for the structural design of barriers.

3.3 Both the 1971 and 1981 loading codes required that the horizontal impact load
should be 1.5 x 1500 kg for domestic and 1.5 x 2250 kg for other structures, applied
at a height above floor level of 0.45m generally and not less than 0.9 m for trucks
(References 2 and 3).

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3.4 Therefore the steel barrier which Mr. Lee encountered should have been designed to
withstand a horizontal force of 1.5 x 2250 kg applied at a height of 0.45m above the
top of the floor slab. Evidence was given that structural calculations showed the
barrier to be quite inadequate to withstand this load.

4. The Coroner’s Conclusion

4.1 Because the evidence presented at the Court hearing suggested that in most areas
of this building the designers must have relied on wheel stops only to contain
vehicles, the Coroner sought to correct this risk of deficiency in existing elevated car
parks by recommending that they should all be reviewed to ensure compliance with
the current SAA Code AS/NZS 1170.1 – 2002 which is more specific in relation to the
use of kerbs and wheel stops. (Appendix 2 and Reference 4).

4.2 The Coroner’s recommendations include:

(a) ‘. . . that the Minister take steps . . . to ensure that all multi-storey above-
ground car parks built before 1989 be required to upgrade vehicle and
pedestrian barriers to comply with the current Australian Standard.’

(b) ‘. . . that the Ministers take steps . . . to ensure that Councils have the powers
necessary to conduct audits of above-ground car parks built before 1989 to
determine whether they are in need of urgent upgrading to ensure safety. The
relevant Australian Standard with respect to design loads for both pedestrian
and vehicle impact at present is AS 1170.1 – 2002.’ (Refer to Appendix 2 and
Reference 4).

5. Recommendations
5.1 The Australian Standard AS/NZS 2890.1 – 2004 “Parking Facilities Part 1 – Off-
Street Car Parking” requires that wherever the drop from the edge of a parking area
exceeds 600mm, barriers should be provided to withstand the loads required by
AS/NZS 1170.1.

5.2 AS 2890.1 notes that the purpose of wheel stops is as an optional parking guide to
limit the travel of a vehicle into a parking space. They are not mandatory.

5.3 The load capacity of existing barriers and/or the provision of new barriers should also
be considered during the maintenance and/or refurbishment of existing buildings.

6. References
1. Engineers Australia, March 2009.

2. Standards Association of Australia, AS 1170, Part 1 – 1971, SAA Loading Code.

3. Standards Association of Australia, AS 1170, Part 1 – 1981, SAA Loading Code.

4. Standards Australia, AS/NZS 1170.1: 2002, Structural design actions, Part 1.

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Appendix 1: AS 1170, Part 1 – 1981

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Appendix 2: AS/NZS 1170.1 – 2002

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