Breakaway Supports
Transpo manufactures and supplies transportation safety products and materials for roads and highways. A leader in the transportation industry, we incorporate the latest safety innovations and new technologies across all our products. Transpo’s breakaway supports are widely recognized for their quality, performance, and reliability, protecting motorists wherever signs and light poles stand near the roadway.
What Are Breakaway Sign and Pole Supports?
Breakaway supports are engineered to yield or detach cleanly when struck by a vehicle, rather than acting as a rigid, fixed hazard. Rigid poles and signposts within the roadside clear zone can turn a run-off-road event into a severe crash. Breakaway systems remove that fixed obstruction at the moment of impact, protecting drivers, passengers, and infrastructure.
How Breakaway Supports Work
On impact, a high-strength coupling or base breaks away quickly and predictably, reducing the forces transferred to the vehicle and its occupants. Under normal conditions, the support holds securely against wind and dead loads.
Transpo's Breakaway Support Systems
Pole-Safe® protects motorists where light poles stand in clear zones and impact-prone locations. Its high-strength coupling breaks away consistently regardless of the vehicle’s angle of impact.
Tested to MASH standards, Break-Safe® is a multi-directional breakaway support for ground-mounted signs in clear zones and other impact-prone areas.
Transpo’s selection program helps engineers specify the right breakaway sign supports using site-specific input parameters and current AASHTO standards, returning structural analysis results, recommended post sizes, and corresponding Break-Safe® model recommendations.
Transpo’s Breakaway Support Systems for Wayfinding signs have been successfully used by design firms to incorporate Breakaway supports into their designs to comply with regulations.
Applications for Breakaway Road Signs and Poles
Transpo’s breakaway supports serve highways, roadside clear zones, and airfields, anywhere a sign or light pole could otherwise become a fixed impact hazard. They install on new or existing structures to upgrade safety compliance without full replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Breakaway Sign Supports
What is a breakaway sign or pole support?
A support designed to safely yield or detach when struck by a vehicle, reducing damage to the vehicle and minimizing injury to occupants.
Why are breakaway supports important for roadway safety?
They help prevent severe crashes by allowing poles or signs to break away on impact, protecting drivers, passengers, and infrastructure.
Can these systems be used for retrofitting existing poles?
Yes. Breakaway supports can be installed on new or existing poles and signs to upgrade safety compliance without full replacement.
