A revolutionary safety device installed at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) recently had its litmus test and passed with flying colors-saving lives and limbs and minimizing property damage in an accident.

The accident took place last February 9 when a Fuzo jeepney, with three persons on board and a big load of mangoes, rammed into an Impact Attenuator at the Bocaue toll plaza. The device, called Impact Attenuator, prevented a potentially disastrous road accident from causing serious damage to both the vehicle and its passengers, as well as third parties and NLEX property.

The jeepney was about to enter a toll barrier when the driver apparently lost control of the wheels, causing it to swerve to the left, avoiding a car in front and went straight to the attenuator.

According to the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), builder-concessionaire of the NLEX, the gadget is still usable, but needed replacement of three barrels which were destroyed by the impact that also caused it to shrink by about one meter.

Damage to the vehicle was also considered minor.

"This evidently proves that the Impact Attenuator softened the crash, preventing injury to the driver and the passengers, as well as mitigating damage to the vehicle," Rodrigo E. Franco, MNTC president and CEO, said.

They pointed out that the outcome would have been drastically different if the jeepney ran into a concrete barrier at the toll plaza, instead of the Impact Attenuator.

"We can now safely say that the acquisition and installation of the Impact Attenuators was definitely a sound investment," Franco added.

MNTC is majority-owned by Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC).