Vehicle impact: PAS 68 and IWA 14-1

Vehicle impact ratings come from three standards: PAS 68 in the UK, IWA 14-1 internationally, and ISO 22343-1:2023, the current international standard that supersedes both. Every rating states the test vehicle and its mass, the impact speed and angle, and how far the vehicle penetrated. Match each line of defence to the vehicle, speed and penetration in the rating.

• PAS 68The UK vehicle impact standard
• IWA 14-1The international vehicle impact standard
• ISO 22343-1:2023The current standard, superseding both
• Mass, speed, angle, penetrationWhat every rating states

What PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ISO 22343-1 are and who publishes them

PAS 68 is the UK standard for testing vehicle security barriers. It was developed with UK government and industry input and is published by BSI. For a long period it was the default reference on British specifications for hostile vehicle mitigation, and many project documents still name it today.

IWA 14-1 is the international equivalent: an International Workshop Agreement published by ISO. It gave specifiers outside the UK a common method for testing barriers against vehicle attack, using the same basic idea of a defined vehicle, speed and angle, with penetration measured after impact.

ISO 22343-1:2023 is the current international standard for the task, and it supersedes both PAS 68 and IWA 14-1. New specifications should reference it, while existing project documents that name PAS 68 or IWA 14-1 remain valid for the products tested under them. The table below summarises the three.

When a specification names one of the older standards, check what the project actually requires. A product tested to PAS 68 carries a PAS 68 rating; it does not automatically carry an ISO 22343-1 rating. Name the standard the evidence supports, and if the documents are being updated, move them to the current standard.

What a vehicle impact rating states

Every vehicle impact rating states four things: the vehicle type and its mass, the impact speed, the impact angle, and the penetration distance. Leave one out and the rating is incomplete. A “7,500 kg truck at 64 km/h” tells you the test; the penetration figure tells you the result.

The test vehicles are standardised by mass, from a car to a heavy truck. The table below lists the common ones.

Common test speeds are 48, 64 and 80 km/h. The speed is set by the threat assessment and the site layout: a straight approach road allows higher speeds than a tight urban turn, and the rating must reflect the speed a real vehicle could reach. The impact angle matters because a glancing blow and a head-on impact load the barrier differently; the rating states which was tested.

Penetration is the distance the vehicle, or its major parts, travelled past the barrier line. It is measured, not estimated, and it is the part of the rating that tells you whether the protected zone stayed protected. Zero penetration means the vehicle was stopped at the line; anything more is stated as a distance for the designer to work with.

Four parts, no shortcuts. A complete rating states vehicle mass, impact speed, impact angle and penetration distance. If a product sheet gives you fewer than four, ask for the test report.

How the test works

In the test, the vehicle is driven into the product at the stated speed and angle. The product is installed as it would be on site, including its foundations or fixing arrangement, because the ground is part of the system. After the impact, testers measure how far the vehicle and its wreckage travelled beyond the barrier line.

The result is the rating: the four stated elements together. There is no separate grading scale of the kind LPS 1175 uses; the rating is a factual record of one test. That makes the test report unusually important. It is the only place the full conditions are recorded: the exact product, the vehicle, the speed, the angle, the ground conditions and the measured penetration.

Because the ground is part of the system, a rating earned on one foundation may not transfer to another. The test evidence states the ground and fixing conditions used. The site must match them, or the design team must satisfy itself that the difference does not matter. This is a point to settle at design stage, not after the barrier is in the ground.

How to read a vehicle impact rating

A vehicle impact rating reads as a set of four values: for example, a 7,500 kg truck at 64 km/h, head-on, with a stated penetration distance. Read all four together. A heavy vehicle at low speed can be a milder test than a lighter vehicle at high speed, so the mass on its own tells you little.

On penetration, less is better. Zero means the vehicle was stopped at the barrier line. Where penetration is stated as a distance, the designer uses it to position the barrier: the protected asset must sit beyond the penetration distance, with margin. This is why the figure is part of the rating rather than a footnote.

Check the scope of the evidence before you compare two products. The rating describes the tested arrangement: the product, its size and spacing, and the ground it stood in. A bollard tested as a row may not carry the same rating as a single, and a barrier tested in concrete may not carry it in soil. The test report, not the brochure, is the authority. Our hostile vehicle mitigation page explains how the product range maps to these ratings.

PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ISO 22343-1 compared

The three standards share the same test philosophy: a defined vehicle, a defined speed and angle, and a measured penetration. They differ in publisher and standing, as the earlier table showed. For a specifier, the practical questions are which standard the project documents name and which standard the product evidence supports.

Many UK specifications still write “PAS 68”. That is fine where the product was tested to PAS 68 and the evidence says so. On new work, the current reference is ISO 22343-1:2023, and specifications being drafted now should name it. IWA 14-1 appears on international projects and on older documents; treat it the same way, as a valid reference for products tested under it.

Do not mix the names casually. Writing “tested to PAS 68 / IWA 14-1” for a product tested to only one of them is inaccurate, and a checker will ask for the report. Name the standard on the evidence, and keep the project documents aligned with it. Where a client standard still mandates PAS 68, that mandate governs, whatever the current international position.

How to specify a vehicle impact rating

1. Identify the threat vehicle. Take the vehicle type and mass from the threat assessment, from a 1,500 kg car to a 30,000 kg truck.
2. Set the speed. Work from the site layout and the approach: the speed a vehicle could realistically reach.
3. Agree the penetration. Decide what the protected zone can tolerate, and position the barrier accordingly.
4. Name the standard. PAS 68, IWA 14-1 or ISO 22343-1:2023, matching the test evidence.
5. Ask for the test report. Require the report naming the vehicle, speed, angle and penetration for the exact product and arrangement.
6. Match the ground conditions. Check the ground and fixing conditions in the evidence and reproduce them on site.

Write the requirement as one line per product: “Bollards tested to ISO 22343-1:2023, 7,500 kg vehicle at 64 km/h, [angle], [penetration].” Then add the arrangement: spacing, line layout and foundation, as tested. That gives the contractor something buildable and the checker something verifiable, which is the whole point of a rated product.

Products rated for vehicle impact

ArxBridge supplies hostile vehicle mitigation across barriers, gates and facades. Hostile vehicle mitigation explains the full range. Security bollards are impact tested fixed and removable units for protecting entrances and perimeters. HVM street furniture brings vehicle mitigation into public spaces without the look of a fortress. Security gates and sliding vehicle gates cover pedestrian and vehicle entry points, and HVM rated curtain walling gives glazed facades a vehicle impact rating. Sectors that specify HVM include public spaces, transport hubs and government and defence, and our Martyn’s Law guide explains the legal context behind many current enquiries.

Frequently asked questions