Crash attenuator assemblies for decelerating vehicles

A crash attenuator assembly operable to decelerate an associated errant vehicle during an associated impact event, said crash attenuator assembly comprising:

• a guide rail anchorable to an associated ground surface adjacent an associated roadway, said guide rail extending in a longitudinal direction from a first rail end to a second rail end opposite said first rail end;
• a first frame assembly disposed along said first end of said guide rail and supported for sliding displacement longitudinally therealong;
• a second frame assembly disposed along said second end of said guide rail and anchorable in stationary relation thereto;
• a plurality of intermediate frame assemblies supported on said guide rail for sliding displacement longitudinally therealong, said plurality of intermediate frame assemblies disposed in spaced relation to one another between said first and second frame assemblies such that a plurality of bays are defined longitudinally along said crash attenuator assembly with one of said plurality of bays between adjacent ones of said first frame assembly, said second frame assembly and said plurality of intermediate frame assemblies;
• a piercing device supported on said first frame assembly, said second frame assembly or one of said plurality of intermediate frame assemblies, said piercing device oriented in facing relation to an adjacent one of said plurality of bays;
• and,
• a plurality of compressible energy absorbers with each of said plurality of compressible energy absorbers disposed within a different one of said plurality of bays with said piercing device operative to penetrate into one of said plurality of compressible energy absorbers upon compression of said one of said plurality of compressible energy absorbers in an amount exceeding a predetermined compression threshold thereby creating an aperture operable as a visually observable identifier of compression of said one of said plurality of compressible energy absorbers to an amount exceeding said predetermined compression threshold.