Crash barriers are an integral part of the roads that they are barely even noticed by the drivers on the roads. And even if they do come in the notice of the people on the roads, they would think that these are just very simple fences that prevent the cars to fall off from the highway.
It all depends upon the type and kind of crash barrier which is installed on the road. The most common purpose of the crash barriers being installed however is that they protect and prevent the vehicles from falling off or going in the wrong direction or colliding with anything.
Some of the reasons for installing crash barriers
There are many reasons as to why are the crash barriers installed. Some of the reasons are mentioned below. They are:
- To protect and prevent the vehicles from striking the pedestrians on the road
- To avoid cross-median accidents
- To avoid the vehicles from colliding with fixed objects
- To redirect the vehicles back in the flow of traffic
- To prevent the vehicles from going in the non-driveable batter
When installing the crash barriers it is extremely important to take account of a few things and some investigation procedures are also carried out such as:
- The flexibility of installing the crash barriers
- The criteria for installing the crash barriers
- The total length and width of the crash barriers
- The barrier terminal treatment
- The total level of protection which is required to install the crash barriers
- The transitions in installing from one type of barrier to the another type
A few of the concerns in the installation of crash barriers
There are some very typical issues and concerns in installing the crash barriers. Below we are mentioning a few concerns:
- The length of the barriers can be too short
- Some unsafe end terminals
- The water barriers are not filled or filled half only
- The barriers in actual do not protect the hazard
- There are not sufficient offset between the hazard and the barrier
Is it important to install the crash barriers?
There are many types of barriers which all are installed for the reason of redirecting the vehicles at a specific speed, size range and at a certain angle. It does not mean that a bigger barrier is any better. This is because you might notice that some crash barriers might seem too low or down to look any good but they all serve the same purpose, which is to keep the vehicles safe.
One of the most common causes of vehicle collision is the shallow angle crash in which there is the danger of the vehicle going sideways. The vehicle slowly starts drifting sideways and the barrier redirects it back on the shoulder. This prevents any serious damage to the vehicle. However, in serious and more hardly hit collision there is the chance of the bumper hitting the barrier and the vehicle sliding.
Looking at all of this, it is quite important to figure out that crash barriers are extremely important and that they should be installed.