guardrail
Highway safety barrier
A guardrail is a protective barrier along roads, bridges, or elevated areas to prevent vehicles or people from going over the edge.
Highway guardrails absorb impact and redirect vehicles back onto the road.
Figuratively, guardrails are limits that keep things on track: The company needs guardrails on AI development.
In tech contexts, guardrails are constraints built into systems to prevent misuse or harmful outputs.
Obstruction preventing passage
- medianCentral sorted value
- shoulderUpper arm joint
- reflectorsSurfaces that bounce light
- rumble stripsGrooved pavement warning zones
crash barrier · attenuator · breakaway · impact · collision · delineator · roadside · embankment
Carbon-hardened iron alloy
- galvanizedStimulated into sudden activity
- aluminumElement thirteen
- corrugatedFormed into parallel folds
- cableHeavy-duty woven line
concrete · wood · rust-resistant · weathered · dented · reflective · bolted · anchored
Vertical structural beam
- beamStructural support member
- boltThreaded rod for nuts
- anchorSecures ships to seabed
- bracketSupport or category
terminal · blockout · offset · spacer · height · length · tension · installation
Guarding against harm
- preventStop in advance
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- restraintControl over impulses
deflection · containment · redirect · breakaway · forgiving · shielding · hazard · rollover
Maximum allowed extent
- constraintLimiting condition or rule
- boundaryLine marking a limit
- checkOrder to pay
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
restriction · guideline · parameter · control · regulation · governance · compliance · policy
barrier
Obstruction preventing passage
- medianCentral sorted value
- shoulderUpper arm joint
- reflectorsSurfaces that bounce light
rumble strips · crash barrier · attenuator · breakaway · impact · collision · delineator · roadside · embankment · curve
steel
Carbon-hardened iron alloy
- galvanizedStimulated into sudden activity
- aluminumElement thirteen
- corrugatedFormed into parallel folds
cable · concrete · wood · rust-resistant · weathered · dented · reflective · bolted · anchored · tensioned
post
Vertical structural beam
bracket · terminal · blockout · offset · spacer · height · length · tension · installation · repair
protection
Guarding against harm
- preventStop in advance
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
restraint · deflection · containment · redirect · breakaway · forgiving · shielding · hazard · rollover
limit
Maximum allowed extent
- constraintLimiting condition or rule
- boundaryLine marking a limit
- checkOrder to pay
oversight · restriction · guideline · parameter · control · regulation · governance · compliance · policy · rule
- Road Safetyseatbelt, stop sign, speed limit, crosswalk, traffic light
- railshandrail, monorail, banister, balustrade, railway
- safety devicesairbag, seatbelt, smoke detector, helmet, fire extinguisher
- safety netsrescue net, net, fall protection, backstop, failsafe
- bridge partsspan, deck, girders, abutment, pier
- highway featuresoff-ramp, exit ramp, merge lane, shoulder, exit sign
guardrailfree rein
Unrestricted freedom to act
carte blanche · no limits · anything goes · lawlessness · deregulation
- steel guardrailMetal highway safety barrier