There is no fixed absolute value for the spacing of guardrail posts. It is determined based on the road's crashworthiness level, degree of hazard, and specific construction drawings. In practical engineering applications, the following two conventional spacings are mainly used:
1. Standard Spacing: 4 meters In general road sections or sections with ordinary protection needs, posts are typically spaced 4 meters apart. This spacing meets basic protection requirements while also considering economic costs.
2. Reinforced Spacing: 2 meters In high-risk areas such as curves, bridges, dangerous mountain sections, intersections, or median strips, the post spacing is increased to 2 meters to enhance the guardrail's robustness and crashworthiness. Adding a post in the middle of a standard 4-meter guardrail panel significantly improves the guardrail's ability to absorb collision energy.
Furthermore, for some special or extremely high-risk road sections, the spacing requirements are even stricter:
1-meter Spacing: In some median strip guardrails using pre-embedded sleeve installation or specific grades (such as SBm level), the post spacing may be set to 1 meter.
1.5-meter spacing: In highway mainline guardrails with the highest impact resistance rating (such as SA level), the post spacing may be set at 1.5 meters.
Summary: The post spacing for most regular road sections is 4 meters, while in hazardous road sections requiring enhanced protection, the spacing will be increased to 2 meters. The specific spacing settings must be strictly implemented in accordance with the design drawings and the impact resistance standards of the road section.