At Ritherdon, our drive for innovation and safety has always been at the core of what we do. As designers and manufacturers of external electrical enclosures, we understand the critical importance of roadside safety, and that’s why we’re proud to have developed the world’s first Passively Safe Cabinet (PSC).
Later this month, we’ll be exhibiting this breakthrough product at the Safer Roadsides Conference (29th May 2025, National Conference Centre, Solihull), organised by Passive Safety UK, a key date in the calendar for those working toward safer roadside infrastructure. You’ll find us at Stand 5, ready to talk all things passive safety, from our PSC Cabinet to Atlas Retention Sockets and PolePlugs.
Extending Passive Safety to Roadside Cabinets
Developed to EN12767, the PSC was a first of its kind innovation, bringing the principles of passive safety (previously applied to lighting columns, signposts and gantries) into the cabinet space. This means there’s no need for vehicle restraint systems (VRS) to protect the cabinet, because the cabinet itself is designed to breakaway and minimise impact severity in a crash.
The PSC represents a new standard in road safety, reducing risk to road users and infrastructure while maintaining functionality and access for engineers.
A Cabinet Backed by Certification – and Evidence
Ritherdon’s Passively Safe Cabinet (PSC) is firmly established as certified and independently verified passive safety product.
The PSC’s robust line up of approvals and credentials includes:
- Independently Crash Tested by TRL:
- Low Speed (35 km/h) – TRL Technical Report, showing breakaway performance under urban impact conditions.
- High Speed (100 km/h) – TRL Technical Report, confirming high impact survivability and safety credentials under motorway speed testing.
- GB Patent Protected — Recognising the PSC’s innovative design and contribution to roadside safety engineering.
- National Highways Product Acceptance Certificate PAC/0036/1/2022/05/10, confirming suitability for the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
- TOPAS Registered — Certificate 2024/0269, to specification TOPAS 2546A, verifying that the cabinet meets essential performance and procurement standards.
These independent tests and certifications confirm the PSC’s performance under real world impact conditions, and its compliance with industry leading standards, offering complete confidence for those designing and maintaining roadside networks.
Latest Certification – TOPAS
The latest addition the roster has been TOPAS, but what exactly does TOPAS imply?
TOPAS (Traffic Open Products and Specifications) is an independent, not for profit body governed by a board representing Government, National Highways and the manufacturing community.
Their primary role is to help public sector and commercial purchasers ensure that roadside equipment, like the PSC, meet key performance and safety standards.
Through its Product Register, TOPAS provides transparency and independent verification. It is not a regulator, however it provides specifiers, contractors, and local authorities a trusted way to confirm a product’s technical suitability and compliance with performance criteria. See Ritherdon’s PSC product registration.
For roadside infrastructure that needs to meet rigorous safety demands, TOPAS certification is a vital box to tick.
See the PSC in Action This Summer
Alongside our exhibition at the Safer Roadsides Conference in May, we’ll also be participating in a live demonstration of the PSC at the ITAI Crash Day on 3rd July 2025 at Darley Moor, Derbyshire.
Organised in partnership with Passive Safety UK, this event gives attendees the chance to witness crash friendly products being tested in real world simulations, seeing is believing when it comes to passive safety.
Join Us at Safer Roadsides
If you’re attending the Safer Roadsides Conference on 29th May 2025, come and speak to us at Stand 5. We’ll be showcasing the PSC and our full range of passively safe road products, including:
- Atlas Retention Sockets – high torque, non-damaging retention for passively safe poles
- PolePlugs IP68 – secure breakaway cable connectors
- And more…
Check out the full range ahead of time here: Passive Road Safety Product Range
Working Toward Safer Roads Together
At Ritherdon, we believe every component of roadside infrastructure has a part to play. Our Passively Safe Cabinet is one way we’re pushing the sector forward, with certified compliance and innovative design.
We look forward to seeing you at Safer Roadsides 2025 and ITAI Crash Day 2025 and to continuing the conversation about safer infrastructure.
Need more information or want to discuss a project?
📩 Contact Us – we’re happy to help.
