Roadside
structures such as bus shelters and cluster mailboxes are increasingly used in
urban areas. These structures raise safety concerns due to the likelihood of
being struck by errand vehicles. The main objective of this research was to
evaluate a bus shelter and two types of cluster mailboxes under impacts of MASH
compliant vehicles. Finite element modeling and simulations were employed as
the major tool of the investigation. The simulation results showed that there
was no potential occupant injury in vehicular crashes into both single- and
dual-unit Type I and Type IV mailboxes under MASH TL-1 conditions. In vehicular
crashes into the bus shelter under MASH TL-2 conditions, the simulation results
indicated no potential occupant injury; however, there was a high likelihood of
injury to adjacent pedestrians caused by the falling roof and windscreen
debris. Furthermore, pedestrians inside the bus shelter were highly likely to
get severe injury by the striking vehicles.
