They are changing it from a Freeway to Sheeprace! ;)
Cheers, Mick.
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They are changing it from a Freeway to Sheeprace! ;)
Cheers, Mick.
I've noticed that once the fence goes up , the number of wildlife skittles increases , a lot .
The poor buggers get trapped by the fence and jump , waddle , bolt back into the traffic.
Whether or not they are just " animals " is immaterial, hit one and the vehicle is done - unless it's a full size truck .
recentley they've done the section of Hume , Wallan into Ringroad , the number of cars and 4wd with stoves in fronts and sides near a struck animal is incredible .
Im on Sydney road and we have dead Roos out the front of work , I'm near Kmart !
That's suburbia !
And wait till till a motorcyclist is caught up in a fence , there will be an uproar .
Funny you should bring up the wildlife situation,,, I commented to Leeanne on the drive, I don't think I've ever seen so many carcasses,, I didn't even think of the fence being an issue,, but your right, it is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rextheute
They have put these wire ropes all the way from Pakenham to Warragul and are in the process of doing them all the way to Traralgon and beyond. Whoever has come up with this scam is setting themselves up for generations. I'm of the opinion that the tea-tree shrubbery that used to be in the median strip all the way along the Princes Highway served as a pretty effective safety barrier, as well as a good screen against oncoming headlights. They have mulched dozens of kilometers of scrub along the Princes Highway and replaced it with the ugly wires, I get to spend my trip to work looking into oncoming high beams.
It's interesting. I've watched them put in the wire barrier from Molesworth to Yea and originally thought like you guys. Since they finished the wire though, it has stopped at least 7 head on accidents. That's stopped 7 cars going across the road potentially into other cars or trees in 6 months.
They had to put back the finish date because it kept getting damaged.
I had a mate die in a head on crash on that section of road 30 years ago. Now I think if they had the wire rope barrier back then he'd still be alive today.
Not saying it's the only answer and it's no silver bullet. Just a different perspective.
Sorry to hear of your mate,, and yes, maybe they could have saved him, along with others I'm sure.
We traveled up via Yea/Molesworth, and interestingly enough, I found it quite a pleasant drive, mind you, at 80kph in the D4, it was always going to be pleasant.
On the particular road we are talking about, I dont really have a problem,, but I do on a freeway.
I noticed on the Putty Road (a favourite for we bike riders) between Wilberforce and Singleton, a lot of the corners now have Armco to road level so bikes and riders can't go under the barrier and hit the support uprights.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chops
I have heard motorcyclists refer to those wire barriers as "cheese cutters".
Back in about the 1960s I read a report in an American publication that researchers had found that the most effective and most cost effective median strip barrier was rose bushes.
Only because they couldn't spell bougainvillea. [biggrin]Quote:
Originally Posted by vnx205
Wire barriers were used here from the fifties until about 10 years ago. Concrete barriers are now in use as modern cars and trucks are too heavy to be contained by the wire barriers. Rather than being held and pushed back in the direction of travel as was intended trucks are passing over the barriers and colliding with on coming traffic. In some cases the barriers caused vehicles with higher centre of gravity and light trucks to rise up and roll over into on coming traffic. When the UK was making this decision most of Europe had already moved away from wire to concrete barriers for these reasons. Wire barriers are though much cheaper than concrete
Motorway crash barriers
Barrier selection
The choice of barrier is a very important one; the wrong type of barrier could increase risk for road users. [15] The volume, speed and mix of traffic is used to determine which type of barrier will be used on a particular stretch of road, and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. [16] At present, the majority of central reservations on major roads in England are installed with flexible steel safety barriers. This type of barrier was chosen for its containment of vehicles and minimum effect on vehicle occupants. [17] However, the Highways Agency has since changed its policy and now recommends the use of concrete barriers on motorway central reserves.
In the UK, crossover incidents account for over 200 motorway crashes and 40 deaths a year. [19]
In January 2005, the Highways Agency issued its new policy (Interim Advice Note 60/05), recommending the use of higher concrete barriers to reduce the risk of crossover incidents on central reservations of motorways with high traffic levels. The policy stated that in most cases, when concrete barriers are struck, they do not need to be repaired and also do not need as much regular maintenance as steel barriers, therefore minimising the exposure and risk to road workers. [20]
The concrete barriers will be introduced gradually and only in new schemes, or motorway-widening schemes. Existing steel barriers will only be changed when they need replacing.
Professor Knapton believes there are many benefits to using concrete barriers instead of steel ones, including:
- They don’t damage the vehicle as much.
- They (usually) don’t need any repair after a crash. Currently, repairing barriers will involve closing a road/ lane for repairs to be carried out, with workers being put at risk on the road.
- They work equally well with heavier vehicles.
- Only one concrete barrier is needed in the central reservation to serve both sides of the road.
- There is no headlight dazzle through the barrier.
- They need less space as they don’t ‘deform’ like steel barriers.
“Another problem with steel barriers is they are very dangerous for motorcyclists,” Professor Knapton added. “They often decapitate and cut limbs off motorcyclists. I think if steel barriers were to be replaced with concrete ones it would be much, much safer for motorcyclists as, providing they are wearing the right safety equipment, they are going to bounce off the barrier and slide down it.”
Alternatives to crash barriers
Considering the way that roads are built in the UK, there doesn’t seem to be any practical alternative to crash barriers. Motorways and carriageways are usually placed alongside each other, meaning there is no space in between for anything other than a crash barrier. Professor Knapton concludes: “There is simply no room for any alternatives. We put our carriageways very close together. In the USA they keep carriageways about 40ft apart and have a gentle ditch between them. This is a very good idea but we don’t have the space to do it in Britain. I can’t think of anything for British roads that could replace barriers, especially as a lot of our motorways are urban motorways. Bearing the space issue in mind, it does seem to me that using concrete barriers is a much better alternative to steel barriers.”