What does PAS 68 stand for?

PAS 68 was originally drawn up in 2005, becoming the first British impact test standard. Recognised as one of the premier crash test standards around the world, PAS 68 has played an integral role in shaping all the impact test standards that have followed.

Since its original development, PAS 68 has gone through a number of versions, with 2013 being the most recent. PAS 69, its sister standard is just as important, supporting PAS 68 in ensuring the effectiveness of the installation of high security products.

PAS 69 provides guidance on the installation of high security products, as well as the considerations which need to be reviewed when selecting and installing an impact tested product.

What does the PAS 68 rating mean?

First of all, what does PAS actually stand for? Well, a PAS is a Publicly Available Specification and PAS 68 is one of the many standards overseen by the British Standards Institution (BSI).

One of the common misconceptions we come across when fielding PAS 68 enquiries is that all rated products are the same. In fact, the PAS 68 rating covers a wide range of products that can vary depending on the level of security needed.

Factors such as the size of the attacking vehicle you need to stop and the speed it’s potentially travelling at, help decide which PAS 68 rated product is best suited to your needs. This is often determined by carrying out a ‘Vehicle Dynamic Assessment’ which is usually completed by an accredited Security Consultant or a Counter Terrorism Security Advisor.

For example, you may have one site where you need protection against a vehicle travelling at 30mph, at another you need to protect against the same type of vehicle travelling at 50mph, in each case, you would need to select a PAS 68 rated product suited to those requirements.

But how do you tell the difference?

The easiest way to demonstrate this is to show you how a PAS 68 rating is laid out. You may have seen a string of letters, symbols, and numbers similar to this when looking at impact tested products – V/7,500(N2)/48/90:0/0. If you’re seeing it for the first time it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but once you understand what each section means it’s actually quite simple.

Test Method

Firstly, we have the test method, in this case, it’s ‘V’ for vehicle, meaning that the product has been tested using an actual vehicle; this is the most common method you will find. Other testing methods you may come across are ‘D’ for design, where the test is simulated. Finally, you have ‘P’ for pendulum (though this only suitable for testing bollards at lower energy levels).

Vehicle Type

Next up is the mass and type of vehicle. The weight is measured in kg, so in our example, it was tested with a 7,500kg vehicle. Then the (N2) refers to the vehicle category. A more detailed breakdown of the different vehicle types can be seen below.

Vehicle Classifications

As you can see there are a variety of vehicles that may be used for the impact test.

Test Speed

After that we have the test speed, this is measured in kilometres per hour (kph). So, looking at our example rating it was tested at 48kph.

Angle of Impact

The next section gives you the impact angle of the test, which is usually 90°.

Impact Penetration

This is followed by the impact penetration achieved during the crash test. This measurement communicates how far (in meters) that the load carrying part of the test vehicle travelled past the back face of the product being tested before being drawn to a complete stop. In our example, the bollard achieved 0m penetration. The level of penetration considered acceptable depends on where the perimeter line is in relation to the asset being protected. The distance between the asset being protected and the line of protective measures is known as “stand-off”.

Debris Dispersion

Finally, we have the dispersion distance of major debris. This measurement indicates the furthest point that debris weighing over 25kg travelled during the test. In the case of our example rating, it had a dispersion distance of 0. This is included to help security engineers visualise the test and should not be a focal point for end users. This has caused some confusion in the past, resulting in the IWA 14 standard not including the dispersion distance measurement.

What about the other impact test standards?

Now that you know a bit more about PAS 68 you may be wondering about the other impact test standards. The other most common impact rating you will see listed on our high-security bollards, blockers and barriers is the IWA 14 standard (our Centurion Shallow Mount Bollard is a great example). Released in 2014, the International Workshop Agreement (IWA), follows a similar structure to PAS 68, with two key differences. Firstly, the penetration measurement is taken from the front face of the product being tested and not the back face. Secondly, debris dispersion is not recorded. We’ll be covering this rating in more detail within a future guide.

The final rating you may come across is DOS, an American rating. This has now been superseded by ASTM (American Society of Testing Materials). To find out more about these ratings and hostile vehicle mitigation as a whole its’ worth having a read of the official CPNI guide. If you have any further questions on PAS 68 feel free to contact us.