You might not think much of the crash barriers that run along the perimeter of our highways, but this particular Nurburgring crash video shows us the engineering that has gone into them - well, for those that have been engineered and crash tested properly anyway. What you'll see in the video will remind you of a giant pinball machine with the Clio RS being the ball.

Different barrier designs are engineered to perform different functions. Flexible barriers that can be constructed from cables or corrugated guide rail systems will deflect a vehicle when struct, functioning like an elastic band, similiar to what we saw in the video above.

A rigid barrier will deflect only a negligible amount - it's shaped is instead designed to redirect a vehicle into a path parallel to the barrier. Semi-rigid barriers generally perform in between the two types.