Article: EU reviewing wire barriers

Slice

From today's Irish Times, by Tim O'Brien:

The European Commission has launched a review of the use of wire rope crash barriers such as those currently being installed on Irish motorways and dual carriageways.

The Commission has asked the European Committee for Standardisation, which draws up technical specifications for industry, to review the use of such barriers, a Commission spokeswoman confirmed yesterday.

The review was prompted by concern over the effects the wire ropes and poles have in a collission, particularly with motorcyclists.

The installation of such barriers has now been banned in a number of European countries - including Britain, Austria, Norway and the Netherlands - on safety grounds.

However, the National Roads Authority (NRA) is currently installing the wire rope barriers on all major roads where the central median is 15 metres or less.

In Europe, Australia and the United States, however, concern about wire ropes is mounting - particularly from motorcyclists.

They point to research in Germany that was conducted using cadavers that showed motorcycle users were particularly vulnerable to having limbs severed and suffering potentially fatal injuries upon striking the metal stakes that hold up either ropes or narrow guardrails.

Following a review of European-wide safety research, the Dutch removed the wire ropes, and the last such barrier in the Netherlands was removed in July of last year.

In Norway, the Ministry of Transport announced a ban on future use of wire rope barriers at the end of last year, while, in a similar move, the British government's roads agency has stipulated all new central barriers must be solid concrete.

Existing wire rope barriers in Britain are to be removed when in need of replacement.

In Austria, France, Germany and Portugal devices have been fixed to the upright poles of existing wire ropes and other crash barriers in a bid to make them less hazardous to motorcyclists.

Wire ropes have also been identified by the EU-funded final report of the Motorcyclists and Crash Barriers Project, carried out by the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (Fema), as the "worst possible choice" from a motorcyclist's perspective.

The project considered research detailing design changes to crash barriers put forward by many European states to make them safer for all road users.

It concluded that with "the wire rope safety fence . . . it seems difficult to improve their safety with regards to a motorcyclist at a reasonable cost".

In fact, for motorcyclists, one of the best situations is where there are no obstacles on the roadside, as is seen in Belgium, and instead have a very wide median.

Wide medians were proposed in Ireland, but this was changed following a three car crash on the M50 in November 2004, when a car crossed onto oncoming traffic, resulting in multiple fatalities.

Following the crash, the NRA announced it would "retro-fit" crash barriers to motorways and it opted for the wire rope barrier system at a cost of approximately €7.5 million.

Responding to questions this week, the NRA said it now used safety barriers where the central median was less than 15 metres. Beyond 15 metres, the median itself is deemed to provide the safety mechanism.

"The NRA standards accord with best practice internationally and were determined following a review of design standards in use in other countries," the authority insisted.

In an additional statement, the authority said: "Conventional accident databases provide little useful information on the merits of particular crash barrier types. As a result, there is no definitive study on the subject. Road safety researchers agree, however, on two points. Firstly, that the best solution is to provide wide medians with no barrier, and secondly that where narrow medians are used, crash barriers are essential."

But it concluded that "between these two positions, there is considerable difference of opinion as to decision rules relating to median width and most appropriate barrier type.

"The NRA standard is close to the centre of the spectrum of practice in Europe."

Hotblack Desiato

Typical from the NRA. They're years behind the safety thinking of other countries.

MAG Ireland (Motorcycle Action Group) has been making all the points in the article to the NRA for years, before a single wire rope barrier was put in in fact, but of course the NRA just went ahead anyway, like they did when they decided that motorway service areas were not needed here. Sheer bloody-mindedness and no accountability for the inevitable and expensive climbdown.

Wire rope is cheap and nasty - cheap to put in that is, the maintenance costs of it are far higher than the alternatives, particularly concrete.

Rumours started a couple of years ago that the EU was to ban new wire rope installs (they haven't, yet, but eventually we got this review.) The NRA's response wasn't to think again, it was to roll out as much wire rope as fast as possible to beat the proposed ban. Of course, all this was a climbdown from their previous position that barriers weren't needed in Ireland at all... :rolleyes:

There have already been avoidable deaths in Ireland caused by wire rope. But if you get your TD to ask the Minister for Transport anything about the NRA, he'll say "it's not my responsibility."

:mad:

mike65

Thread about rope wire started Slice. I like it

Mike.

Slice

Would a trenched median not be the safest option for all?

Zoney

ninja900 - I wouldn't of course presume that the authorities here actually perform the needed levels of maintanance for the wire barriers!

I've seen untensioned sections from time to time all over the place, there was a stretch on the M7 some time back that was like that for months.

I mean it requires something like daily checks does it not?

mike65

www.newstalk.ie right now.

Mike.

fricatus

Slice wrote:

Would a trenched median not be the safest option for all?

For all the non-road engineers out there, what is a trenched median?

Seems to me that a concrete median is the best option. They have them on the Gorey bypass and on the Outer Ring in Waterford. I saw a crash on the ORR here where the car hit the barrier and glanced harmlessly back out onto the carriageway. If I absolutely had to crash, I'd prefer to do it on that road.

I know that a median without obstacles is the ideal for bikers, but let's be realistic, you're not going to get a big gravel trap like on the Moto GP! I imagine the concrete barrier is the best of a bad lot since you're not hitting it full-on (i.e. at 90 degrees). If you go in at a shallow enough angle, you'll just slide along it and it will gather you up.

murphaph

As a motorcyclist I feel most comfortable riding alongside concrete barriers.

MrPudding

Agreed. If there has to be a barrier then I like them nice an smooth.

MrP

Victor

fricatus wrote:

For all the non-road engineers out there, what is a trenched median?

I suspect he means a wide median, with a dip in it, such that the vehicle is unlikely to come out the other side.

Slice

Yes, that's exactly what I mean

Drax

Anyone hear Matt Cooper last Wednesday talking about motorcycles and wire barriers. Mr. Cooper was interviewing a lady from the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) and came out with some classic questions such as:

"Are motorcycles allowed on motorways"?
"Are motorcycles suitable for use on motorways"?
"Are motorcyclists afraid of them [barriers]"?

I lost a lot of respect for him that day I can tell you. What pure ignorance.

http://www.radioireland.ie/lastword/1992007-17.wmv