The Usage and Benefits of Truck Mounted Attenuators for Road Worker Safety in UAE Are Extensive
General patching works being done on Sheikh Zayed Road. Six lanes of traffic thunder by at 120kmph, but for the workers, there is nothing but a few traffic cones and a prayer that separates them.
Now try to imagine the same situation but with a large truck behind the crew with a large crushable cushion on its back.
When a distracted driver crashes into the work zone, it’s not them that get hit, it’s that truck.
This cushion-filled truck is known as a Truck Mounted Attenuator (TMA) and may well be the least-known safety device on UAE roads.
This document examines the purpose of TMAs, the need for them in UAE work areas and how they relate to the UAE road safety regulations.
No jargon, no bogus figures—just what road safety stakeholders and inquisitive motorists need to know.
Why Road Worker Safety Is a Real Problem in the UAE
Let’s begin with the not-so-funny part.
The roads in UAE are not flat.
According to the Ministry of Interior, traffic accidents have caused 6,416 injuries and 158 deaths throughout the country in 2024, with Dubai accounting for 3,109 accidents, including 158 deaths. Another 123 deaths were reported in Abu Dhabi.
Heavy vehicles are disproportionately responsible for the risk.
During 15 years, the UAE experienced over 224 fatalities in bus, mini-van and truck crashes, with the average death rate standing at 14 fatalities per year.
The majority of the victims were workers on major highways with 100 km/h or more speed limits, and investigators constantly blamed speeding, abrupt lane changes, and tailgating for the accidents.
Now, think of all those fast, close-to-together cars coming the other way at a work crew, not another car.
The math does become increasingly difficult.
While a distracted driver, a fatigued driver, and a driver who is simply not paying attention have a small window of opportunity to arrive at an unprotected work zone before causing a collision.
This is what TMAs are designed to do.
So, What Is a Truck Mounted Attenuator?
A TMA is a cushion that is attached to the back of a heavy support truck by bolts.
The truck is located behind the working area and serves as a rolling shield.
Crash energy is absorbed and deflected when a vehicle collides with the attenuator.
A car hits workers, or equipment, or the concrete barrier at low velocity and persists over a longer distance, rather than hitting it at full velocity and stopping.
Imagine a belt for the whole work zone.
A seat belt is not designed to prevent a crash from occurring; it is designed to help protect the body during a crash.
A TMA operates in the same fashion; however, on a highway scale.
These come in two general categories that are used in UAE projects:
Permanently Installed Units
Permanently installed on a dedicated truck for stationary or slow moving situations like resurfacing or lane closure.
Rear-Mounted Attenuators
Rear-mounted attenuators that attach to the back of the vehicle and can be moved rapidly, such as for mobile applications such as line painting or mowing.
Both versions are available because they’re intended to absorb an impact that the human body just can’t.
How TMAs Are Tested Before They Even Get Onto a Road
But that’s where it gets interesting, and where Google’s focus on trustworthy content from experts comes in.
TMAs aren’t approved because a manufacturer says they’re safe.
They undergo proper crash testing.
The initial benchmark was the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350 (NCHRP 350), which established common standards for crash testing permanent and temporary highway safety features, assessing products in terms of structural adequacy, occupant risk and vehicle trajectory.
This standard would require a velocity change of less than 12 metres per second and a deceleration of less than 20 g to be experienced by an occupant in the vehicle that was struck, if the occupant was inside at the time of impact.
In 2016, the industry moved to a stricter standard.
AASHTO’s Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), a new revision of NCHRP 350, provides common guidelines for crash testing and more explicit guidance on when using MASH-approved attenuators is required.
Testing became more difficult as well.
The test vehicles were heavier than normal road vehicles, with the small car gaining 2,420 pounds as MASH added in the additional weight.
In addition MASH included off-center impact testing.
Real world crashes are not likely to hit an attenuator straight on, so newer tests test what happens when a vehicle strikes the attenuator at an angle or off-center, not just straight on.
That’s a worthwhile improvement, as a machine that performs “textbook” collisions is really no good on a real highway with distracted, wending drivers.
The message for the UAE contractors:
The TMAs are not the same.
A MASH rated and passed unit provides a verified and independently confirmed level of protection.
If this is an untreated one, it’s just a wild guess.
The Role of TMAs in UAE Road Safety Regulations
The UAE does not rely on the judgment of individual contractors for the protection of work zones.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority does this by specific schemes.
The RTA’s Work Zone Traffic Management Manual has been applied to all work zone traffic management activity taking place in Dubai since 1st January 2011 and may only be deviated from formally by the circular or by formal written approval.
Moreover, any company that conducts road works in Dubai will need to ensure that all necessary traffic safety requirements are in place to protect the workers as well as road users, as per the Traffic Safety Manual at Work Sites, which was published by the RTA, and must submit diversion plans that comply with the technical standards of the Work Zone Traffic Management Manual for the respective lane closures and speed limits.
Abu Dhabi has a parallel system.
The emirate’s Department of Transport has its own Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which will provide uniform guidance, warning and information to road users and will be used as a reference document for those carrying out traffic engineering work, municipalities, and private road development projects in the emirate.
In simple language:
If you are operating a Work Zone anywhere in the UAE, your Traffic Management Plan is not a ‘nice-to-have’ document and that includes the utilisation of devices such as TMAs.
It is required by law and good operational practice to be reviewed by the relevant authority prior to commencement of work.
The Practicality of TMAs Is More Than Just Regulatory, It Makes Sense
There is also some safety equipment that was put in place for the sake of a checklist.
TMAs are not that.
Let’s look at some of the reasons they deserve to be on a UAE job site.
They Purchase Time for Reaction
A TMA is parked away from the work area and allows the driver who is not paying attention to see the hazard for metres and stop before reaching the crew.
They Take the Bull by the Horns, So Others Don’t Have To
The attenuator has to crush and absorb energy; a human body cannot.
They Are Mobile Friendly
It is important to be able to tow with the crew, as lane closures change during a shift on UAE highways.
They Minimise Liability Risks
When a traffic management plan is devised and implemented in accordance with RTA standards, coupled with the use of equipment that has been properly tested, contractors have a safety record that they can defend should an accident occur.
This is not a substitute for proper flagging, training flaggers or good driving.
A TMA is a component of a much larger safety system, rather than a panacea.
However, it is the layer that will absorb the worst case scenario, and that is why road safety engineers approve of it so much.
Some Common Questions That Need To Be Answered
Is It Necessary To Have a TMA for All UAE Work Sites?
Requirements vary according to the speed of the roadway and the level of traffic and the type of work zone (as per RTA or Abu Dhabi DoT guidelines).
This will be decided by project specific traffic management plans which will be signed off by the relevant authority, so it would be good practice to check with the authority not to assume.
Are the Attenuators That Haven’t Been Tested Yet Able To Be Used?
Equipment installed prior to the change in the NCHRP 350 standard is exempt from testing under MASH requirements, but all new equipment purchased for use on the National Highway System must be tested since January of 2011.
Any new unit purchased by a contractor must be verified for current MASH compliance.
Is the Use of a TMA a Complete Solution for Eliminating Work Zone Risk?
No safety device does.
The severity of impacts can be greatly lessened but signage, lighting, trained personnel and driver awareness are all very important.
The Bottom Line on How Truck Mounted Attenuators Improve Road Worker Safety UAE
In UAE roads, speed prevails and the statistics reveal the true impact of not taking care of safety concerns in work zones.
Truck Mounted Attenuators cannot prevent distracted driving and won’t prevent all crashes, but it will affect what occurs after an crash when it is inevitable.
They convert a tragedy into a banged up truck and a really happy crew of workers.
The message to contractors is clear:
Invest in MASH-tested equipment, adhere to RTA and Abu Dhabi DoT standards to the TTC and see the TMA as one element of a multi-layered safety approach.
To all the other motorists going by the work zone, it’s a reminder that the truck with the large cushion on the back is not just sitting there.
It’s working a job, maybe saving a life, at the same time every single shift.