VicRoads promotes wire rope barrier as a fence that absorbs energy slowing out-of-control cars and trucks to a safe halt. BUT, how often does WRB perform as advertised?
Google: HOLDEN CRASH 2014 BARRIER for this and other crashes. Change Holden to Ford or Toyota and 2014 to 2014 for more.
It seems to me that the media too often does not identify the type of barrier involved in these crashes.
It also seems to me that when a car or truck goes out of control at highway speed then hits a WRB, it has a chance of stopping according to VicRoads spin but it is more likely the vehicle will either crash through the barrier into oncoming traffic as happened at Yatala, QLD or get slung back into same direction traffic with extreme force. For other traffic a WRB prang is Russian Roulette.
At Yatala, from memory, a track went over the WRB in the median ploughing into oncoming traffic writing off six cars, putting eight people in hospital and killing a young woman.
I was riding on Melbourne's ring road near in Thomastown when a car a few in front of me speared off into the WRB. The WRB ripped the front of the car to shreds spraying shrapnel all over the place, then the car was slung back out into traffic crossing two lanes and stopping on the left of the road. It was good luck, certainly not good management, that the wrecked car did not hit anything but the WRB.
On another day, going the other way a rider died. The picture shows the memorial.
RIP.
Damien
IRG
IRG
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