Response of Spun Cast Concrete Poles to Vehicle Impact

The increased use of prestressed concrete poles for lighting and power transmission have led users to question the safety aspects of such poles. The main questions relate to what happens when a passenger vehicle hits a concrete pole and how prestressed concrete poles behave in comparison with normally reinforced concrete poles under vehicle impact. The major reason for speculating that prestressed and normally reinforced concrete poles behave differently is that the presence of a relatively high prestressing force may lead to a brittle type of failure upon vehicle impact. Since it is difficult, if not impossible, to solve such a question theoretically, a series of tests on eleven, full-size poles was undertaken to study the problem experimentally. The tested poles were of a size and height more frequently used for lighting than for power transmission. Thus, the research is more concerned with these lighter and shorter prestressed concrete poles. PREVIOUS IMPACT TESTS OF POLES