No crossover fatalities reported on highways with cable barriers
No crossover fatalities reported on Oklahoma highways with cable barriers
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12
By John Greiner
Published: August 13, 2008
Oklahoma's use of cable barriers in medians prone to crossover collisions is saving lives, officials said Tuesday.
There were no fatalities in the first six months of this year because of crossover accidents where median barriers were present, John Fuller, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said Tuesday. Fuller told state transportation commissioners the state has averaged 34 crossover fatalities the past four years. There were six crossover fatalities in the first six months of this year where there were no median barriers. The commission launched the program in February 2007 to install mostly cable barriers plus some concrete barriers on medians with high accident histories. The state has erected 89 barrier miles so far. Another 142 miles are under construction and an additional 41 miles will be contracted in the next three months, Fuller said. "With the trend we are seeing and the reduction of fatalities, it appears that the installation of cable barriers has been one of the most effective, if not the most effective, safety improvements the department has made,” Fuller said. "What's very encouraging for us is we're seeing that much effect with only 89 miles in place.” State Transportation Secretary Phil Tomlinson is quite familiar with crossover accidents. Three weeks ago, a car in front of him went out of control and crashed into the cable barrier on Interstate 40 about five miles east of Tinker Air Force Base. Two women got out of the car, surveyed the damage and drove away, apparently without significant injury. "It was just amazing to watch it happen,” Tomlinson said. "It caught them like a spider web catches prey.” It prompted Tomlinson to telephone Gary Ridley, director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. "Ridley, your cable barriers work,” he told the DOT chief. About 10 years ago, Tomlinson's son and a friend were traveling on I-35 about 30 miles from Fort Worth, Texas, when a car crossed into their lane. Tomlinson's son survived, but his friend was killed, Tomlinson said. The first cable barriers were installed in Oklahoma City as a demonstration project in 2001. "As best we knew then, it was the only such design available, and it was available in Europe. It was called the Brifen system, and we installed it on Lake Hefner Parkway to see how effective it would be stopping crossover accidents,” Fuller said. Since its installation, the cables have been hit by cars more than 500 times, but none of the hits by cars resulted in fatalities, he said. A fatality did result from a truck hitting one of the cables, he added. According to the Washington State Department of Transportation Web site, cable barriers have been used on the nation's highways since the 1930s. The modern system, which uses three cables supported by steel posts, was developed in the 1960s and is now used in several states. Contributing: The Associated Press
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Riding motorcycles is a risk you take daily--as is driving a car. I can see how they would be a huge scare for motorcyclists. If motorcycles were the main form of transportation, I could see spending 5 times as much to put in concrete barriers. Until then, saving the lives of the many people who have died because some idiot decided to drive across Lake Hefner Parkway's median seems to be a little more important.
In Europe, they are referred to as ‘Cheese Graters’, and many countries have removed them entirely after realizing that they have actually been the ‘cause of death’ among motorcyclists unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.
Though probably more expensive, the concrete wall section concept seems like a safer alternative.