Vehicle Crash Testing Categories
If you're specifying bollards, blockers, barriers, or crash-rated street furniture, you'll come across two key impact test standards: PAS 68 and ISO 22343. This guide breaks down what each rating category means and how to use them when comparing products.
Why these ratings exist
Standards like PAS 68 and ISO 22343 replace that guesswork with controlled, independently verified crash tests. Each test sends a real vehicle at a product under known conditions, then records exactly what happened.
PAS 68 is the long-standing British specification for testing vehicle security barriers (VSBs). ISO 22343 is the newer international standard, published in 2023, and now sits alongside it as the current global framework for VSB testing. Both use broadly the same core parameters, so once you understand one, the other follows easily.
The core categories explained
Vehicle type and classification
Every test uses a specific category of vehicle, because a small car and a loaded truck pose completely different threats. Vehicles are grouped into weight-based classes, and the classification is stated in the rating code. This is your starting point: what type of vehicle could realistically reach your site? Protecting a car park has very different requirements to protecting a loading bay.
Vehicle mass
Given in kilograms, this is the actual weight of the test vehicle used. Mass and vehicle type go hand in hand in the rating, because a heavier vehicle carries far more kinetic energy into the impact. A product tested against a 3,500 kg vehicle and one tested against a 7,500 kg vehicle are not interchangeable, so always check the mass matches your site's realistic worst-case scenario.
Impact speed
Measured in kilometres per hour, this is the vehicle's speed at the moment of impact. Test speeds typically range from around 48 km/h up to 80 km/h. Speed has a major effect on outcome, since impact energy increases sharply as speed rises. A product rated for different speeds will not perform the same way, so it needs to reflect what's achievable on the approach to your site.
Penetration distance
This measures how far the vehicle travels past the barrier's rear line before it's brought to a complete stop. It's measured in metres and tells you how much "stand-off" (the distance between your barrier line and the asset you're protecting) you actually need. A low penetration distance can sit closer to a building entrance or public space; a higher penetration figure means you need more distance behind the barrier.
Debris dispersion
Some impacts break the vehicle or the barrier apart. This measurement records how far heavier fragments of debris travelled from the point of impact. It matters most where crowds or building frontages sit close to the barrier line, since debris can present a secondary hazard even where the vehicle itself has been stopped. When comparing products for pedestrian-dense sites, check the debris figure too.
How it all comes together in a rating
Crash ratings are presented as a single rating string:
V/7500[N2]/48/90:6.6/0.0
Read left to right, this typically tells you: the test method (a real vehicle impact), the vehicle mass and classification, the impact speed in km/h, the impact angle in degrees, the penetration distance in metres, and the debris dispersion distance in metres.
It looks dense at first, but once you know what each segment represents, you can compare two products' ratings side by side in seconds, and spot straight away if one has a much shorter stand-off requirement, or a lower debris risk, than the other.
What this means for your buying decision
When you're specifying a product, work backwards from your site:
- Identify the realistic threat vehicle for your location, its likely type and mass.
- Establish the achievable approach speed based on the road layout, distance, and any traffic-calming already in place.
- Confirm your available stand-off distance as this tells you the maximum penetration figure you can accept.
- Check debris dispersion against how close people or vulnerable assets sit to the barrier line.
A product with an impressive-sounding rating for a threat you'll never face is a wasted budget. Equally, under-specifying against your real risk defeats the purpose entirely. The right approach is almost always to have a proper site risk and vehicle dynamics assessment carried out first, then choose the PAS 68 or ISO 22343 rated product that matches those findings.