US20150322691A1

US20150322691A1 - Cable backed guardrail end terminal system

Info

Publication number: US20150322691A1
Application number: US14/705,158
Authority: US
Inventors: Chris HARMAN; Donald Leo Monin, JR.
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-05-08
Filing date: 2015-05-06
Publication date: 2015-11-12

Abstract

A guardrail end terminal system includes: a first guardrail post at a first end of the system; a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post; a guardrail extruder head mounted on the first guardrail post; a guardrail positioned in the guardrail extruder head and mounted to the second guardrail post; a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post; a cable brake attached to a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system; and a first cable anchored to the first guardrail post and extending through the first cable hanging bracket to the cable brake.

Description

This invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/990,139 filed on May 8, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field Of The Invention
The embodiments of the invention relate to a guardrail end terminal, and more particularly, to guardrail end terminal system backed by a cable.
2. Discussion Of The Related Art
In general, a guardrail end terminal system is located at the oncoming traffic ends of guardrail runs. The guardrail end terminal system is designed to deflect a side impact by a vehicle and, in the alternative, absorb a head-on or shallow angle, i.e. <5 degrees, impact by a vehicle at the guardrail extruder head at the beginning of the guard end terminal system. A guardrail extruder head absorbs energy from a head-on or shallow angle impact to its impacting head by moving down the W-beam guard rail and receiving a W-beam guardrail though a feeder chute, flattening the guardrail beam in an extruder throat by squeezing the W-shape out of the guardrail beam, and then deflecting the flattened guardrail beam through a curved deflecting plate. Thus, W-beam guardrail should feed into the guardrail extruder head and absorb energy by being flattened so as to slow an impacting vehicle as the vehicle runs down a length of W-beam guardrail while flattening the guardrail beam and deflecting the flattened guardrail. Prior art examples of such guardrail extruder heads and further description of their operation can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,715,735 and 4,928,928.
The guardrail end terminal system typically starts at the first guardrail post on which the guardrail extruder head is mounted. The guardrail end terminal system also typically includes at least second, third, fourth and fifth guardrail posts that immediately follow the first guardrail post. A guardrail is positioned within the guardrail extruder head and bolted to the second through fifth guardrail posts as well as other additional guardrail posts along the length of the guardrail. The first through fifth guardrail posts are at least included in the guardrail end terminal system in that those guardrail posts are weakened guardrail posts of the guardrail end terminal system. More particularly, weakened guardrail posts are designed to be pushed over by the guardrail extruder head as the guardrail extruder head moves down the guardrail during an impact. A guardrail end terminal system can also include sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth guardrail posts in addition to the first through fifth guardrail posts to accommodate the head-on impact of higher speed and/or heavier vehicles.
Typically, a vehicle impacting at the guardrail extruder head or impacting the guardrail between the first and second guardrail post will let the vehicle gate or pass through the guardrail end terminal system. A guardrail end terminal system should be able to deflect a high angle impact of a vehicle at a point before the fourth weakened guardrail post of the guardrail end terminal system. That is, a vehicle impacting the guardrail between the second weakened guardrail post and the last weakened guardrail post of a guardrail end terminal system should be deflected or stopped. However, the overall height of guardrail has been raised and vehicles have become heavier such that prior art guardrail end terminal systems have difficulty in deflecting or stopping a vehicle impacting the guardrail between the second and fourth guardrail posts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cable backed guardrail end terminal system that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the prior art.
An object of embodiments of the invention is to provide a cable backed guardrail end terminal system that will deflect a vehicle.
Another object of embodiments of the invention is to provide a guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing to deflect a vehicle if the vehicle impacts the guardrail anywhere between the second and fifth posts of the cable backed part of the end terminal system.
Another object of embodiments of the invention is to provide a guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing to stop a vehicle if the vehicle impacts the guardrail between the second and fifth posts of the cable backed part of the end terminal system.
Additional features and advantages of embodiments of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the embodiments of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of embodiments of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, a guardrail end terminal system includes: a first guardrail post at a first end of the system; a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post; a guardrail extruder head mounted on the first guardrail post; a guardrail positioned in the guardrail extruder head and mounted to the second guardrail post; a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post; a cable brake attached to a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system; and a first cable anchored to the first guardrail post and extending through the first cable hanging bracket to the cable brake.
In another aspect, a guardrail end terminal system includes: a first guardrail post at a first end of the system; a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post; a third guardrail post located subsequent to the second guardrail post; an anchor attached to the first guardrail post; a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post; a second cable hanging bracket on the third guardrail post; a brake tube at a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system; a braking slug at an end of the brake tube; and a first cable connected to the anchor and extending through the first cable hanging bracket and the second cable hanging bracket to be connected to the braking slug.
In yet another aspect, a guardrail end terminal system includes: a first guardrail post at a first end of the system; a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post; a third guardrail post located subsequent to the second guardrail post; a fourth guardrail post at a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system; a fifth located prior to the fourth guardrail post; an anchor attached to the first guardrail post; a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post; a second cable hanging bracket on the third guardrail post; a brake bracket on the fourth and fifth guardrail posts; a brake tube attached to the brake bracket; and a braking slug at an end of the brake tube; a first cable connected to the anchor and extending through the first cable hanging bracket and the second cable hanging bracket to be connected to the braking slug.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of embodiments of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a top view a 12-post guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a back view of an 8-post guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a top view of an 8-post guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an end view of a first guardrail post according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4A is a close-up back view of a cable hanging bracket mounted on the second guardrail post shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 4B is a close-up end view of a cable hanging bracket mounted on the second guardrail post shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 5A is a close-up top view of the cable brake mounted on the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 5B is a close-up back view of the cable brake mounted on the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 6 is a close-up back view of the cable brake shown in FIG. 5B.

FIG. 7 is a close-up end view of the cable brake mounted on the eighth guardrail post shown in FIG. 5B.

FIG. 8 is a view of a braking slug at the end of the backing cable shown in FIG. 5B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
FIG. 1 is a top view a 12-post guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a cable backed guardrail end terminal system 1 can include first through twelfth guardrail posts 2 a-2 k, blockouts 3 at the front side of the second through twelfth guardrail posts 2 b-2 k, a guardrail 4 mounted to the front side of the second through twelfth guardrail posts 2 b-2 k through the blockouts 3, an extruder head 6 mounted at the front side of the first guardrail post 2 a, cable hanging brackets 7 at the back side of the second through ninth guardrail posts 2 b-2 i, a cable brake 8 at the back side of the tenth through twelfth guardrail posts 2 j-2 k, an anchor 9 attached to the first guardrail post 2 a, and a cable 10 connected between the cable brake 8 and the anchor 9 so as to pass through the cable hanging brackets 7 on the back side of the second through ninth guardrail posts 2 b-2 i. A yoke support 5 is position between the first and second guardrail posts 2 a and 2 b such the second post 2 b provides additional support to the first post 2 a in providing an anchor point for the anchor 9.
In general, embodiments of the invention, are directed toward an improved guardrail end terminal system 1, which uses a backing cable 10 anchored 9 at the first guardrail post 2 a and strung through cable hanging brackets 7 on the backs of at least the second, third, fourth and fifth guardrail posts 2 b-2 e so as to extend to a cable brake 8 mounted on at least a pair of guardrail posts 2 j and 2 k located beyond the first through fifth guardrail posts 2 a-2 e. For example, during an impact onto the guardrail 4 between the second guardrail post 2 b and the pair of guardrail posts 2 j and 2 k on which the cable brake 8 is mounted, the cable brake 8 provides tension on the backing cable 10 while providing an additional length of backing cable 10 to be resistively fed behind the guardrail posts taking force from an impact on the guardrail. In this example, the backing cable 10 can slide through the hanging brackets 7 of the guardrail posts taking force from the guardrail being impacted, i.e. 2 c-2 e, as well as through the hanging brackets 7 of guardrail posts, i.e. 2 f-2 i, between the impacted guardrail posts and the cable brake 8 so as to result in an additional length cable 10 being resistively fed into the impacted portion of the guardrail 4 from the cable brake 8. In effect, the backing cable 10 together with the cable brake 8 acts as an arresting cable that provides additional support behind the guardrail posts 2 b-2 i at the cable hanging brackets 7 where an impact on the guardrail occurs such that the guardrail 4 will be further supported in deflecting or stopping an impacting vehicle.
The first guardrail post 2 a, as shown in FIG. 1, is a weakened wood post. The second through ninth guardrail posts 2 b-2 i are yielding steel posts. The tenth through twelfth guardrail posts 2 k-2 l can also be yielding steel posts. Although a 12-post system is shown for use in high speed applications, such as highways, shorter systems can be used on roads with vehicle traffic that travels at low speeds. For example, an 8-post system having the cable brake on the seventh and eighth guardrail posts can be implemented. Moreover, cable backed guardrail end terminal systems having anywhere between eight to twelve posts can also be implemented depending upon the speed conditions of the road on which such a system will be placed.
FIG. 2A is a back view of an 8-post guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2B is a top view of an 8-post guardrail end terminal system with a cable backing according to an embodiment of the invention. Line G-G′ in FIG. 2A is the ground line. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a cable backed guardrail end terminal system 10 can include first through eighth guardrail posts 12 a-12 h, blockouts 13 at the front side of the third through eighth guardrail posts 12 c-12 h, a guardrail 14 mounted to the front side of the second through eighth guardrail posts 12 b-12 h through the blockouts 13, an extruder head 16 mounted at the front side of the first guardrail post 12 a, cable hanging brackets 17 at the back side of the second through fifth guardrail posts 12 b-12 e, a cable brake 18 at the back side of the sixth through eighth guardrail posts 12 f-12 h, an anchor 19 attached to the first guardrail post 12 a, and a backing cable 20 connected between the cable brake 18 and the anchor 19 so as to pass through the cable hanging brackets 17 on the second through fifth guardrail posts 12 b-12 e.
The guardrail 14 is not mounted in the guardrail extruder head 16 but rather an extension of the guard rail 14 is positioned within the guardrail extruder head 16. Thus, the guardrail 14 is not attached to either the first guardrail post 12 or the guardrail extruder head 16. However, the guardrail 14 is mounted to the second guardrail post 12 b and to the third through eighth guardrail posts 12 c-12 h through blockouts 13.
The first guardrail post 12 a, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, is a weakened wood post set in a soil tube 21 with a soil plate 22. A weakening hole 12 aa through the first guardrail post 12 a weakens the first guardrail post 12 a. The weakened wood post 12 a can be broken at the weakening hole 12 aa by the guardrail extruder head 16 as the guardrail extruder head 16 moves along the guardrail 14 during a head-on or shallow angle impact on the guardrail extruder head 16.
The second through eighth guardrail posts 12 b-12 h are yielding steel posts having an I-beam configuration with a web between two flanges. Yielding holes 23, as shown in FIG. 2A, are in both flanges at both front and back sides of each of the second through eighth guardrail posts 12 b-12 h near the ground line G-G′. Such positioning of the yielding holes 23 weakens the flanges of the yielding steel posts near the ground line G-G′ enables the yielding steel posts 12 b-12 h to bend over if the guardrail extruder head 16 moves along the guardrail 14 during a head-on or shallow angle impact on the guardrail extruder head 16. That is, as the guardrail extruder head 16 moves along the guardrail 14, the back bar 16 a of the guardrail extruder head 16 can knock the blockouts 13 off of the guardrail 14 and push/knock over the second through eighth yielding steel posts 12 b-12 h.
The anchor 19 passes through the weakening hole 12 aa of the first guardrail post 12 a on one side of the first guardrail post 12 a and through a bearing plate 24 on the other side of the first guardrail post 12 a. As the guardrail extruder head 16 moves along the guardrail 14 during a head-on or shallow angle impact on the guardrail extruder head 16, the first guardrail post 12 a will be broken across the weakening hole 12 aa by the guardrail extruder head such that the anchor 19 can be released. A guardrail cable 25 can also be connected to the anchor 19 and extend to a guardrail grabber 26, which is detachably attached to the guardrail 14. The guardrail grabber 26 is detachably attached in that the guardrail grabber 26 can be knocked off the guardrail 14 by the back bar 16 a of the guardrail extruder head 16 as the guardrail extruder head 16 moves along the guardrail 14 during a head-on or shallow angle impact on the guardrail extruder head 16.
A yoke support 15 is position between the first and second guardrail posts 12 a and 12 b such the second post 12 b provides support to the first post 12 a and the bearing plate 24 in providing an anchor point for the anchor 19. Further, the yoke support 15 can extend to and come into contact with the bearing plate 24 at both sides of the first guardrail post 12 a to provide support from the second guardrail post 12 b to the bearing plate 24. In the alternative, a pair of angle iron strut supports can be used in place of the yoke 15. Thus, a first angle iron strut support can be attached at the front sides of the first and second guardrail posts 12 a and 12 b to provide support to the first post 12 a and the bearing plate 24 in providing an anchor point for the anchor 19. Further, a second angle iron strut support can be attached at the back sides of the first and second guardrail posts 12 a and 12 b to provide support to the first post 12 a and the bearing plate 24 in providing an anchor point for the anchor 19. Both the first and second strut supports can extend to and come into contact with the bearing plate.
FIG. 3 is an end view of a first guardrail post according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the anchor 19 extends through the first guardrail post 12 a and through the bearing plate 24. A washer 27 and nut 28 fasten the anchor to the first guardrail post 12 a. The bearing plate 24 extends beyond the sides of the first guardrail post 12 a and the sides of soil tube 21 such that the yoke 15 can provide support to the bearing plate across both sides of the first guardrail post 12 a to provide support from the second guardrail post 12 b to the bearing plate 24. Bolts 29 used to fasten the soil plate 22 to the soil tube 21 can be used to provide support for the first guardrail post 12 a.
FIG. 4A is a close-up back view of a cable hanging bracket mounted on the second guardrail post shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 4B is a close-up end view of a cable hanging bracket mounted on the second guardrail post shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the backing cable 20 passes through a cable hanging bracket 17, which is attached with a fastening mechanism 30 to the back side of the second guardrail post 12 b. The cable hanging bracket 17 can be configured such that the backing cable 20 can easily slide through the cable hanging bracket 17 but yet encloses the backing cable 20. The cable hanging bracket 17 can also be configured to have flanges 17 a to prevent binding of the backing cable 20 when the backing cable 20 is sliding through the cable hanging bracket 17 during an impact.
The cable hanging bracket 17 can be placed on the backing cable 20 and attached to the o the back side of the second guardrail post 12 b with the fastening mechanism 30. The fastening mechanism 30 includes a bolt 31 that slides through the back side of the second guardrail post 12 b and a cable hanging bracket 17 as well as a spacer 32 within the cable hanging bracket 17. The spacer 32 provides a bind-free upper surface for the backing cable 20 and provides spacing for the backing cable 20 to easily slide through the cable hanging bracket 17. A washer 33 and a nut 34 on the bolt 31 secure the attachment of the cable hanging bracket 17 to the back side of the second guardrail post 12 b.
FIG. 5A is a close-up top view of the cable brake mounted on the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 5B is a close-up back view of the cable brake mounted on the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Line G-G′ in FIG. 5B is the ground line. As shown in FIG. 5A, guardrail fasteners 35 attach the guardrail 14 to the front side or front flange of the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts 12 f-12 h through the blockouts 13. As shown in both FIGS. 5A and 5B, cable brake fasteners 36 attach the cable brake 18 to the back side or back flange of the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts 12 f-12 h. More specifically, the cable brake fasteners 36 attach the brake bracket 37 of the cable brake 18 to the back side or back flange of the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts 12 f-12 h. The brake bracket 37 spans across the sixth, seventh and eighth guardrail posts 12 f-12 h. A brake tube 38 is attached to the brake bracket between the sixth and seventh guardrail posts 12 f and 12 g.
Although the brake bracket 37 is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B as spanning three guardrail posts, a brake bracket can alternatively span four or more guardrail posts. In another alternative, a brake bracket could span just two guardrail posts if the guardrail posts are not yielding steel or weakened wood posts. A sufficient number of guardrail posts should be spanned and attached to the brake bracket such that the cable brake 18 is held in place while the backing cable 20 is resistively pulled from the cable brake 18 as a result of an impact on a portion of the guardrail at the front of guardrail posts backed by the backing cable 20. In another alternative, a series of brake brackets 37 can be attached to the brake tube 38 that each respectively attach to a guardrail post such that a single long length of brake bracket spanning across two or more guardrail posts is not used so as to reduce material usage.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the backing cable 20 enters into one end of the brake tube 38 and passes within the brake tube 38 so as to attach to a cable end 39 at the other end of the brake tube 38. A braking slug 40 is affixed on the cable end 39. Thus, the braking slug 40 is connected to the backing cable 20 through the cable end 39. During an impact when the backing cable is pulled by a pulling force P, as shown in FIG. 5B, the braking slug 40 is pulled through the brake tube 38 and provides resistance to the pulling force P. More particularly, the braking slug 40 deforms or reshapes the brake tube such that a resistive force, opposite to the pulling force, is imparted on the braking slug 40 as the braking slug 40 is pulled through the brake tube 38.
FIG. 6 is a close-up back view of the cable brake shown in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 6, the brake bracket 37 is welded 41 to the brake tube 38. The brake bracket 37 can have oval holes 42 and circular holes 43 for attachment to guardrail posts. The brake tube 38 can have stop-bolt holes 44 through which bolts (not shown) are mounted to prevent a braking slug from coming out of the brake tube 38 but yet enabling a backing cable to be resistively fed from the brake tube 38.
FIG. 7 is a close-up end view of the cable brake mounted on the eighth guardrail post shown in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 7, the brake bracket 37 can be angle iron that is attached to the eighth guardrail post 12 with a cable brake fastener 36. The brake tube welded 41 to the brake bracket 37 can have a rectangular shape with short sides 38 a and 38 b as well as long sides 38 c and 38 d. A short side 38 b of the rectangular-shaped brake tube is positioned against the brake bracket 37 and the long sides 38 c and 38 d of the rectangular-shaped brake tube extend from the brake bracket 37. The braking slug 40 has a diameter D greater than a width W measured between the long sides 38 c and 38 d of the rectangular-shaped brake tube.
As the braking slug 40 is pulled through the rectangular-shaped brake tube due to an impact on the guardrail, the long sides 38 c and 38 d of the brake tube are bulged out and the short side 38 a of the brake tube, positioned away from the brake bracket 37, moves toward the short side 38 b of the brake tube adjacent to the brake bracket 37. The rectangular-shaped brake tube is deformed by the braking slug 40 bulging out the long sides 38 c and 38 d of the brake tube and collapsing the short side 38 a of the rectangular-shaped brake tube toward the other short side 38 b of the rectangular-shaped brake tube. The force required to cause the deformation of the rectangular-shaped brake tube as the braking slug 40 is pulled through the rectangular-shaped brake tube together with a frictional force between the braking slug 40 and the sides 38 a, 38 b, 38 c and 38 d of the brake tube as the braking slug 40 is pulled through the rectangular-shaped brake tube creates the resistive force on the braking slug 40 as the braking slug 40 is pulled through the rectangular-shaped brake tube 38. Thus, the backing cable 20, which is attached to the braking slug 40, can be resistively fed behind guardrail posts taking force from an impact on the guardrail 14 due to the resistive forces on the braking slug 40 as the braking slug 40 is pulled through the rectangular-shaped brake tube 38.
FIG. 8 is a view of a braking slug at the end of the backing cable shown in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 8, the backing cable 20 terminates into a cable end 39 on which the braking slug 40 can be attached. More specifically, the braking slug 40 can be attached to a threaded portion 39 a of the cable end with a washer 45 and a nut 46. The braking slug 40 can include a conical portion 40 a and a cylindrical portion 40 b.
Although a disclosed embodiment of the present invention shown herein include a rectangular brake tube 38 together with a braking slug 40 having a conical portion 40 a and a cylindrical portion 40, other brake tubes having other geometric shapes as well as other braking slugs having other geometric shapes are alternatively envisioned. For example, the brake tube can have a triangular shape while the braking slug has a front portion with a conical shape and a back portion with a rectangular shape. In another example, a braking slug can have a triangular wedge shape with a width less than width of rectangular brake tube but the triangular wedge shaped braking slug can have an overall height greater than the rectangular tube can. Any shape of brake tube can be used with any shape of braking slug as long as a resistive force is created by pulling the braking slug through the brake tube. The braking slug, regardless of shape, can deform, destroy or otherwise alter the shape of brake tube to create a resistive force to the braking slug being pulled through the brake tube.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the embodiments of the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that embodiments of the invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A guardrail end terminal system comprising:

a first guardrail post at a first end of the system;

a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post;

a guardrail extruder head mounted on the first guardrail post;

a guardrail positioned in the guardrail extruder head and mounted to the second guardrail post;

a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post;

a cable brake attached to a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system; and

a first cable anchored to the first guardrail post and extending through the first cable hanging bracket to the cable brake.

2. The guardrail system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second cable anchored to the first guardrail post and detachably connected to the guardrail between the first and second guardrail posts.

3. The guardrail system of claim 1, wherein the first guardrail post is a weakened wood post.

4. The guardrail system of claim 1, further comprising:

a support positioned between the first guardrail post and the second guardrail post.

5. The guardrail system of claim 1, further comprising:

a third guardrail post located subsequent to the second guardrail post;

a blockout on the third guardrail post;

a second cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post; and

wherein the guardrail is mounted to the third guardrail post through the blockout and the first cable extends through the second cable hanging bracket.

6. The guardrail system of claim 1, wherein the second and third guardrail posts are steel yielding posts.

7. The guardrail system of claim 1, wherein the end guardrail post is a steel yielding post.

8. A guardrail end terminal system comprising:

a first guardrail post at a first end of the system;

a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post;

a third guardrail post located subsequent to the second guardrail post;

an anchor attached to the first guardrail post;

a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post;

a second cable hanging bracket on the third guardrail post;

a brake tube at a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system;

a braking slug at an end of the brake tube; and

a first cable connected to the anchor and extending through the first cable hanging bracket and the second cable hanging bracket to be connected to the braking slug.

9. The guardrail system of claim 8, further comprising:

a guardrail extruder head mounted on the first guardrail post.

10. The guardrail system of claim 9, further comprising:

a fourth guardrail post at the second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system;

a fifth located prior to the fourth guardrail post;

a guardrail mounted to the second, third, fourth and fifth guardrail posts; and

wherein the guardrail is positioned in the guardrail extruder head.

11. The guardrail system of claim 8, further comprising:

a second cable attached to the anchor and detachably connected to the guardrail between the first and second guardrail posts.

12. The guardrail system of claim 8, wherein the first guardrail post is a weakened wood post.

13. The guardrail system of claim 12, further comprising:

a bearing plate at the first guardrail post through which the anchor extends; and

a support extending from the second guardrail post to the bearing plate to provide support to the bearing plate from the second post.

14. The guardrail system of claim 8, wherein the second and third guardrail posts are steel yielding posts.

15. The guardrail system of claim 10, wherein the fourth and fifth guardrail posts are steel yielding posts.

16. A guardrail end terminal system comprising:

a first guardrail post at a first end of the system;

a second guardrail post located subsequent to the first guardrail post;

a third guardrail post located subsequent to the second guardrail post;

a fourth guardrail post at a second end of the system opposite to the first end of the system;

a fifth located prior to the fourth guardrail post;

an anchor attached to the first guardrail post;

a first cable hanging bracket on the second guardrail post;

a second cable hanging bracket on the third guardrail post;

a brake bracket on the fourth and fifth guardrail posts;

a brake tube attached to the brake bracket;

a braking slug at an end of the brake tube; and

17. The guardrail system of claim 16, wherein the first guardrail post is a weakened wood post.

18. The guardrail system of claim 16, wherein the second and third guardrail posts are steel yielding posts.

19. The guardrail system of claim 18, wherein the fourth and fifth guardrail posts are steel yielding posts.

20. The guardrail system of claim 16, further comprising:

a guardrail extruder head mounted on the first guardrail post.

a guardrail mounted to the second, third, fourth and fifth guardrail posts; and

wherein the guardrail is positioned in the guardrail extruder head.