# Bollard crash ratings explained

> What bollard crash ratings mean: ASTM F2656 vehicle classes, speeds and P1–P4 penetration, ASTM F3016 S10 to S30 low-speed ratings, and how the old US DOS K4, K8 and K12 map to M30, M40 and M50.

Canonical: https://safetybollards.ca/crash-ratings
Last updated: 2026-10-26

A rating like “M30 P1” packs three facts: what hit the bollard, how fast, and how far it got. Here is how to read every rating you’ll see on a Canadian spec sheet, and the questions to ask before you trust one.

## ASTM F2656: vehicle security barriers

ASTM F2656 is the crash test for perimeter security barriers. The rating’s letter is the test vehicle, the number its speed in mph, and the P-number how far the vehicle’s leading edge travelled past the barrier.

*Test vehicles (Gibraltar’s summary of F2656-07 and -15)*

| Code | Vehicle | Weight |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C | Small car | 2,430 lb (1,100 kg) |
| FS | Full-size sedan (added in -15) | 4,630 lb (2,100 kg) |
| PU | Pickup truck | 5,070 lb (2,300 kg) |
| M | Medium-duty truck | 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) |
| C7 | Class 7 cabover truck (added in -15) | 15,873 lb (7,200 kg) |
| H | Heavy goods vehicle | 65,000 lb (29,500 kg) |

Speeds are 30, 40, 50 or 60 mph (about 48, 64, 80 and 97 km/h). So **M30** is a 6,800 kg truck at 30 mph, and **M50** the same truck at 50 mph.

*Penetration ratings*

| Rating | Distance past the barrier |
| --- | --- |
| P1 | 1 m (3.3 ft) or less |
| P2 | 1.01 to 7 m (3.31 to 23 ft) |
| P3 | 7.01 to 30 m (23.01 to 98.4 ft) |
| P4 | 30 m or more (dropped in F2656-15) |

### The year matters

F2656 has been revised several times. Gibraltar’s summary: -18 moved the point penetration is measured from, -18a reverted it, and -20 moved it back, strengthened the truck’s bed in the test and aligned with ISO IWA 14-1, so M-series ratings under -20 “will no longer align” with older ones. Read the rating with its year: “F2656-20 M30 P1”, not just “M30”.

## ASTM F3016: low-speed impact protection

F3016 tests with a 22,250 N (5,000 lb) surrogate vehicle at low speeds. It’s the standard for storefronts, patios, gas pumps and parking-lot edges, where the hazard is a driver who hits the wrong pedal, not an attacker.

| Rating | Impact speed | Penetration |
| --- | --- | --- |
| S10 | 10 mph (16 km/h) | P1: under 1 ft · P2: under 4 ft (dynamic) |
| S20 | 20 mph (32 km/h) | P1 / P2 as above |
| S30 | 30 mph (48 km/h) | P1 / P2 as above |

## The old K-ratings

Older specs and some product names still carry US Department of State ratings from SD-STD-02.01 (1985): **K4** is a 15,000 lb vehicle at 30 mph, **K8** at 40 mph and **K12** at 50 mph. DOS replaced them with ASTM F2656 in August 2007. Reliance Foundry maps them as M30 ≈ K4, M40 ≈ K8 and M50 ≈ K12 (each at L3, 3 ft or less of penetration).

## PAS 68 and IWA 14-1

British PAS 68 and international IWA 14-1 are the equivalents used in the UK and Europe. Some makers list them beside ASTM: ännt on its K4/M30 models, McCue on CrashCore S20 (2,500 kg at 32 km/h).

## Five questions before you trust a rating

1. **Which standard and year?** F2656-07, -15 and -20 are not interchangeable; F3016 is a different (low-speed) test.
2. **Certified or engineer-rated?** Gibraltar marks some of its models “engineer rated” or extrapolated: not crashed in that configuration. Gibraltar’s G-1050 carries K12 by DOS design but, it says, does not meet F2656 M50 P1.
3. **On what foundation?** The rating holds only on the tested foundation, from ännt’s 200 mm shallow fitting to its 1,720 mm retractable box.
4. **At what spacing?** A line of rated bollards is rated at the spacing tested.
5. **In what ground?** ASTM says certification doesn’t make a barrier invulnerable or confirm performance on your site; soils, terrain and climate can degrade it.

Rated products with their foundations: [crash-rated bollards](https://safetybollards.ca/crash-rated-bollards). Which test to ask for: [F2656 vs F3016](https://safetybollards.ca/vs/astm-f2656-vs-f3016).

## Questions

### Is M30 the same as K4?

Close but not identical. Both use a 15,000 lb truck at 30 mph; Reliance Foundry maps M30 to K4 at L3 (3 ft or less of penetration). M30 P1 allows 1 m or less.

### Do Canadian building codes require crash-rated bollards?

We haven’t found a Canadian code page that requires them generally. Requirements usually come from a security assessment, an insurer, a tenant or a municipal standard, so ask whoever set the requirement which rating they mean.

## Sources

1. [ASTM F2656/F2656M-20, Standard Test Method for Crash Testing of Vehicle Security Barriers](https://www.astm.org/f2656_f2656m-20.html) (checked 2026-10-26)
2. [ASTM F3016/F3016M-19, Standard Test Method for Surrogate Testing of Vehicle Impact Protective Devices at Low Speeds](https://www.astm.org/f3016_f3016m-19.html) (checked 2026-10-26)
3. [Gibraltar Perimeter Security, Crash certifications explained](https://www.gibraltarperimetersecurity.com/crash-certifications/) (checked 2026-10-26)
4. [Reliance Foundry, Bollard crash ratings](https://www.reliance-foundry.com/bollard/crash-ratings) (checked 2026-10-26)
5. [TrafficGuard, About ASTM F3016](https://www.trafficguard.net/resources/about-us/astm-f3016) (checked 2026-10-26)
6. [Gibraltar, Anti-ram passive bollards](https://www.gibraltarperimetersecurity.com/anti-ram-passive-bollards/) (checked 2026-10-26)
7. [ännt Bollards, FXSF275K4 900 shallow-foundation bollard](https://www.anntbollards.com/product/fxsf275k4-900/) (checked 2026-10-26)
8. [ännt Bollards, SA275/M30-1200 semi-automatic retractable bollard](https://www.anntbollards.com/product/sa275-m30-1200/) (checked 2026-10-26)
9. [McCue, CrashCore Bollard S20](https://www.mccue.com/products/crashcore-bollard-s20) (checked 2026-10-26)

To get a written quote for this, use the site-plan builder: [Build a site plan](https://safetybollards.ca/quote?item=crash-rated-bollard).

## Related

- [Crash-rated bollards](https://safetybollards.ca/crash-rated-bollards)
- [ASTM F2656 vs F3016](https://safetybollards.ca/vs/astm-f2656-vs-f3016)
- [Best bollards for storefronts](https://safetybollards.ca/best/bollards-for-storefronts)
- [Installing bollards in existing concrete](https://safetybollards.ca/installation/core-drilled-bollards)