Safe Speed Forums

i mean the wire type that seems quite popular these days.

as i understand it, the idea is that the wires cut into the bodywork of the car and slow it down without it crossing over to the other side.

1. has this been tested on trucks at all? the height means it wont touch the bodywork. it would rip the tyres to pieces which i would imagine would create bigger problems ie even more loss of control plus (if all on one side go) a possible roll over.

2. i saw the aftermatch of an rta this morning. i dont know which way it was going but a car made a mess of the wire supports and came to rest in the middle lane facing the wrong way. how is that better than the old type and why arent they using concrete blocks across the network instead of only certain places?

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Richie

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And what testing have they done for motorcyclists? They should be removed yesterday if not sooner.

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Prepare to be Judged

I've also read that they've only been tested with one type of car (volvo?) so if anything else hits them ... well, think of a cheese slicer.

Then - oh motorways are now unsafe - quick bring in some cameras.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

They've been about for years, we were certainly installing them in 97.

Not sure about the volvo, I saw an intersting demo film with an austin princess and a rover SD1.

They are designed to catch the vehicle and flex to reduce the impact force. They will flex but not so as to reach the opposite carriageway. Not sure about the cutting into the bodywork issue.

If I recall there was an issue with re-educating the firebrigade so that they wouldn't cut through them in an accident. They are under pretty high tension!!

Armco works in the same basic way, catches the vehicle and flexes.

Personally I wouldn't want to hit either on a bike.

The 'supports' are sacrificial. The wires are designed to catch the vehicle and are positioned at the appropriate height. Again this is exactly the same with armco. The supports offer no lateral restraint.

The concrete block thing is due to cost and also I'd rather have a soft impact than a hard impact. Concrete barrier tends to be where you really REALLY don't want the vehicle passing through and also where there is a reduced central reserve. You often see them at bridge supports and the like or Open Box Beam or Double OBB.

I thought these things (with exposed supports) were already banned for new installations across Europe and were in the process of being replaced. There was a german motorcyclist or his pillion wife (the latter I seem to recall) cut in two by the supports of a similar type of barrier on the A8 in the south of France 6 or 7 years ago.

http://www.brifen.co.uk/reviewsreports.asp

and some truck videos...
http://www.brifen.co.uk/videos.asp

no bike videos for some reason

surely it would be a glancing blow? i very much doubt you would go from 70 in one direction and somehow wind up turning a full 90 degrees resulting in a head on with the barrier. you would hit it at an angle and bounce back across the carriageway. while this is not ideal, surely its better than going through and onto the other side. at least appraching traffic would have a chance of missing you using a controlled stop in the same direction that you are going (roughly) rather than heading towards you.

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Richie

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