WRB's now with barbed wire!

[dangerous]

headeing north for a rally and I thought I passed some wire rope barrers that had barbed wire on them... surley not.
So on the return trip today I hauled it up to take a look... I for one wouldent want to end up tangled in these farking traps.

249175 249176

After noticing the wire also on some of the steel barrers and I must say this is the road north of Kaukoura, Im thinking the wire is there to stop seals from wobbling onto the road, thing is they would only wonder on to the road inbetween the barriers and WTF will they do to the animals?

[PrincessBandit]

Crikey! Tenderised by the spiky things before being diced by the cheesecutters!

I can only assume that the barbed wire is for wildlife; can't imagine any reason for it as far as vehicles are concerned.

Another good reason to ride in such a way as to not have a close encounter with the WRB. And hey, if it stops you hitting a bloody great seal or sea elephant, then even better.

[Swoop]

An OSH NAZI will be apoplectic with that. Where are the orange cones and hazard identification sheets?

"Safety barriers" that are dangerous?

[dangerous]

Oh, its ok swoop... there was an evacuation notice and a asembly point asigned, so if the shit hits the fan, all will be ok

[Pseudonym]

It’s to insure we die if we hit them, can’t sue if you’re dead…
Shafty first!

[p.dath]

Ouchy! That will kill someone. Even thin wire is likely cut off limbs. That's the whole problem with the "wire rope" in the first place.

[Bald Eagle]

NZ TRANSPORT AGENCY Creating slicing solutions for a thinner New Zealand.

[Mom]

Complete and utter bullshit!

[Devil]

Ouchy! That will kill someone. Even thin wire is likely cut off limbs. That's the whole problem with the "wire rope" in the first place.

The problem with WRB's is the posts, not the rope. But i'm sure barbed wire will be sufficiently unpleasant too.

[Old Steve]

Get onto motonz.org.nz and report it. They're spending the $30 per motorcyclist head to improve roads for the safety of bikers. MOTONZ is a copy of the system they set up in Victoria which has reduced motorbike fatalities by over 30% despite an increase in motorbike numbers.

[yungatart]

It is my understanding that NZTA (or whatever name they operate under this month) has a policy on roadside 'furniture' being safe! Somebody should bring this to their attention....

[Katman]

I'd be inclined to suggest that something that is effective in keeping wildlife off a public road would, in effect, make life safer for the average motorcyclist.

Maybe the average motorcyclist needs to ride that road with the inherent roadside furniture in mind.

[MSTRS]

NZTA is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention...one of it's rules being that it is ok to stab/kill using a knife, but it is NOT OK to use a serrated knife.

[onearmedbandit]

The problem with WRB's is the posts, not the rope. But i'm sure barbed wire will be sufficiently unpleasant too.

Really? I thought all the concern was about the wire ropes.

[imdying]

Bit retarded to call them chesse cutters if that's not the effect we're worried about :facepalm:

[MSTRS]

Really? I thought all the concern was about the wire ropes.

Rest assured, as nasty as the wires can be, they ultimately act as guides to direct a body into the posts.
The whole lot is dangerous to a motorcyclist who is unlucky (shall we say - for there are many reasons why this may happen) enough to come into contact with these cheap 'safety' installations.

[wanpo]

Bit retarded to call them chesse cutters if that's not the effect we're worried about :facepalm:

Cheese graters then?

[Devil]

Really? I thought all the concern was about the wire ropes.

Well the ropes flex (to a degree) and as stated draw the impacting object towards the nearest post, which is fixed.
It's very much the same issue as armco barriers, it's not the barrier part, it's the posts. Thats why double railed armco is much better, the lower rail covers the posts...

[mulletman]

Thanks for the heads up:niceone:, a group of us will be using that bit of road shortly.....:ride:

[onearmedbandit]

Well the ropes flex (to a degree) and as stated draw the impacting object towards the nearest post, which is fixed.
It's very much the same issue as armco barriers, it's not the barrier part, it's the posts. Thats why double railed armco is much better, the lower rail covers the posts...

Yup I know that first hand (re the armco). That's the very reason I have my username.

[riffer]

Okay folks.

We at BRONZ have stirred up a wee hornets nest at NZTA over this one.

Here's is NZTA's response:

Hi Simon

As promised, we have followed up on this and our National Manager Traffic and Safety has spoken with the network engineer (who is himself a motorcyclist), and he advises that the two strands of barbed wire were cable tied onto the posts as a means of stopping seals from basking on the warm pavement. The intention clearly being to improve safety.

Be that as it may, the regional safety engineer has requested the barbed wire to be removed immediately. However, there will be a risk of seals basking on the pavement until such time as an additional fence is erected behind the barrier.

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.

So, end result, NZTA will be putting up a proper fence behind the barrier, and in the meantime the barbed wire is coming down. There is a possibility of seals on the road in the meantime, but hey - up here in the North Island we get stray sheep and we cope.

I hope this helps y'all.

Simon Gotlieb
BRONZ Wellington, BRONZ Federation.

[Dadpole]

So it was simply a cheap, half-arsed alternative to doing the job properly. As is the norm these days.....

[dangerous]

So it was simply a cheap, half-arsed alternative to doing the job properly. As is the norm these days.....
that sounds about right, thing is does a seal have the brains to know its barbed wire or would it lean up on it and cut its self open? hey I dont know maybe their skin is strong enough to not be cut that easy.

While we are on the seal thing I used to drive line haul up to 4 times a week on this road and I never once seen a seal on the road, having said that I do believe it happens, just not that common.

[p.dath]

So, end result, NZTA will be putting up a proper fence behind the barrier, and in the meantime the barbed wire is coming down. There is a possibility of seals on the road in the meantime, but hey - up here in the North Island we get stray sheep and we cope.


Great work Riffer!

Can't wait to see the fence they put up though ... :)

ps. Maybe they should introduce a fine to discourage the seals from going on the road, and erect a sign "No seals allowed". Introducing fines for everything seems to work. Not. :lol:

[riffer]

So it was simply a cheap, half-arsed alternative to doing the job properly. As is the norm these days.....

Well, you could see it that way Dadpole.

I prefer to see it as a well-meaning (albeit misguided, and possibly ignorant) attempt by a local authority to try and help a situation which was obviously a problem, using their limited budgets, and applying a typical NZ #8 wire solution to the problem.

NZTA was notified, and within 24 HOURS of notification, a solution was arrived at.

Instead of knocking, how about people think about the potential here? MOTO-NZ have said we need to be informing them of hazards on the road, NZTA have shown themselves here to be both approachable and responsive.

Perhaps we have an opportunity here to actually make TPTB aware of hazards on the road and get something done.

[Berries]

You may have got the same result with the two previous incumbents but I've known the new National Manager for years and he is a good guy. I suspect that there is now a greater chance of consideration being given to valid arguments that are backed up with real evidence than there would have been in the past.

[Ocean1]

So, end result, NZTA will be putting up a proper fence behind the barrier, and in the meantime the barbed wire is coming down. There is a possibility of seals on the road in the meantime, but hey - up here in the North Island we get stray sheep and we cope.

I hope this helps y'all.

Simon Gotlieb
BRONZ Wellington, BRONZ Federation.

Very nice, cheers.

I wonder if an electric fence might not work, here. It works for the land-based analogues, and from our point of view inadvertant contact might not be exactly pleasant but it's not likely to be fatal.

[grbaker]

No one ever checks that what our councils and Transit build are to any common sense standards (just look at the last road works completed on Haywards Hill in Welly).. If a council builds it (or their subcontractor) everyone just believes that all is correct with it.

Since cheese-cutter dividers are allowed in NZ (just like 1080.. we are the only modern country left in the world using it)... no problem making the stuff even more dangerous.

Well done on taking the time to highlight this issue.

[dangerous]

NZTA was notified, and within 24 HOURS of notification, a solution was arrived at.

Thanks for the heads up:niceone:, a group of us will be using that bit of road shortly.....:ride:And it seems infact the barbed wire has been removed, thanks for your heads up N

[dmc]

Just do what the do in the middle east when barbwire isn't suitable, land-mine's that will stop those pesky sea lions.

[riffer]

And it seems infact the barbed wire has been removed, thanks for your heads up N

Pleased to hear it!

[Drew]

For fuck sakes!, Do none of you cunts ever ride past a farmers fence? Why have you never posted a fuckin thread about it?

The wire barriers are shithouse in the middle of a motorway for sure compared to a concrete barrier, but on the outside edge of the road between live stock or wildlife, it's WAAAAAAAAAAAY less of a hazard than the animals.

Sorry my ginger headed friend, but live with it. It's no different to any other fence round most of rural NZ.

[Drew]

Okay folks.

We at BRONZ have stirred up a wee hornets nest at NZTA over this one.

Here's is NZTA's response:

Hi Simon

As promised, we have followed up on this and our National Manager Traffic and Safety has spoken with the network engineer (who is himself a motorcyclist), and he advises that the two strands of barbed wire were cable tied onto the posts as a means of stopping seals from basking on the warm pavement. The intention clearly being to improve safety.

Be that as it may, the regional safety engineer has requested the barbed wire to be removed immediately. However, there will be a risk of seals basking on the pavement until such time as an additional fence is erected behind the barrier.

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.

So, end result, NZTA will be putting up a proper fence behind the barrier, and in the meantime the barbed wire is coming down. There is a possibility of seals on the road in the meantime, but hey - up here in the North Island we get stray sheep and we cope.

I hope this helps y'all.

Simon Gotlieb
BRONZ Wellington, BRONZ Federation.

I gather Simon, that you are pretty proud of yourself and B.R.O.NZ for your achievement yeah?

What a fuckin waste of time you and yours are.

Sorry mate, but are you really gonna waste your time writing and bitching about a friggin fences on the OUTSIDE of the road, when your slogan is "Education, not legislation, saves lives"?

Fuck I'm glad the only subs I pay are for competition purposes. MNZ might be pretty useless when it comes to road racing, but at least they just forget about shit and keep doing what they've done. Our rep body for road riding seem to just lack the power of their convictions.

Lets ask JamesDuece if it's cool to let livestock wander round on the road aye?

Piss fuckin poor, I am really friggin angry about the up in arms brigade packin a wobbly about this. There are HEAPS bigger and more important issues that should be addressed first.

What are B.R.O.NZ doing about how stupidly easy it is to attain a full New Zealand motorcycle license Simon? Making sure riders can RIDE will save more lives than everything else you lot are doing COMBINED.

[dangerous]

Sorry my ginger headed friend, but live with it. It's no different to any other fence round most of rural NZ.
heheheheeeeeeeeee... mate, I started the thread as a piss take at the anti WRB gang, kinda back fired on me, but thanks for the post groper or is that snapper or Hokie... ya farking cod :bleh:

[Drew]

heheheheeeeeeeeee... mate, I started the thread as a piss take at the anti WRB gang, kinda back fired on me, but thanks for the post groper or is that snapper or Hokie... ya farking cod :bleh:

I wondered at the first what you were thinking about. Then didn't read any sarcasm in it and figured you'd gone all gay on it. I wouldn't have even read the thread if it weren't you that started it.


So yup, I took the bait hook line and sinker.

I submit that the fuckers that got up in arms took it worse, and blew it out of proportion, which is what fucked me off.

[dangerous]

I wondered at the first what you were thinking about. Then didn't read any sarcasm in it and figured you'd gone all gay on it.
what ya mean "gone all gay" Id have a Honda if I could afford it :headbang:

[Drew]

Id have a Honda if I could afford it :headbang:Where have the buckets gone?

[dangerous]

Where have the buckets gone?fucking kids... :rolleyes:

[Drew]

fucking kids... :rolleyes:Oh yip, that'll do it.

[riffer]

I gather Simon, that you are pretty proud of yourself and B.R.O.NZ for your achievement yeah?

What a fuckin waste of time you and yours are.

Sorry mate, but are you really gonna waste your time writing and bitching about a friggin fences on the OUTSIDE of the road, when your slogan is "Education, not legislation, saves lives"?

Fuck I'm glad the only subs I pay are for competition purposes. MNZ might be pretty useless when it comes to road racing, but at least they just forget about shit and keep doing what they've done. Our rep body for road riding seem to just lack the power of their convictions.

Lets ask JamesDuece if it's cool to let livestock wander round on the road aye?

Piss fuckin poor, I am really friggin angry about the up in arms brigade packin a wobbly about this. There are HEAPS bigger and more important issues that should be addressed first.

What are B.R.O.NZ doing about how stupidly easy it is to attain a full New Zealand motorcycle license Simon? Making sure riders can RIDE will save more lives than everything else you lot are doing COMBINED.

In true Mair style - cheers for the feedback mate.

You're right - educating people is what we are trying to do. However, in this regard, BRONZ saw this as an example of where a local body needed to be educated. And I believe we actually did do a service to NZ motorcyclists in this respect. NZTA have acted quickly on this and the word has gone out to ALL roading authorities across NZ that quick fixes like this are no good. You don't like that - too bad - I won't lose sleep over it. It's not a popularity contest. Plenty of people would have bitched if a rider had have come off and slid down a pile of barbed wire.

As for the bigger and more important issues - as usual, work in progress mate. Sometimes the impact of a quick win isn't noticed.

As for what BRONZ are doing about how stupidly easy it is to get a motorcycle license - interesting point. Most feedback I get is that the car licenses are too easy compared to m/c licenses. We've got a number of things in the pipeline at the moment which I won't discuss (mainly because I don't have enough information to open that can of worms) - suffice to say I'm working with some of the old BRONZ to try and bring back some of the stuff that used to happen.

We've tried very hard to promote the stuff Andrew Templeton's been doing - I recall I discussed your attending one of these - and you were going to attend the Upper Hutt one - right up the day before when you decided you'd rather get on the piss and then sleep in - and that's a common attitude in this country. A lot of motorcyclists resent any type of education or any attempt to point out that their riding may not be up to scratch.

And as for wandering stock - there are plenty of laws on this - and to be honest, if they were actually enforced people would be more careful about their stock. But this is a farmer-friendly country and to be quite honest - they don't give a damn about motorcyclists, particularly when all they see is us hooning around on "their" roads. You ride in their hood, you play by their rules.

I'm surprised at your attitude here. You live just down the road from me, you know where I live; you know my number. You have a problem with me talk face-to-face buddy. I can do without a public bitching at.

[Drew]

In true Mair style - cheers for the feedback mate.

You're right - educating people is what we are trying to do. However, in this regard, BRONZ saw this as an example of where a local body needed to be educated. And I believe we actually did do a service to NZ motorcyclists in this respect. NZTA have acted quickly on this and the word has gone out to ALL roading authorities across NZ that quick fixes like this are no good. You don't like that - too bad - I won't lose sleep over it. It's not a popularity contest. Plenty of people would have bitched if a rider had have come off and slid down a pile of barbed wire.But would those same people have bitched if a rider crashed and cut themselves to ribbons on a stock fence?


As for the bigger and more important issues - as usual, work in progress mate. Sometimes the impact of a quick win isn't noticed.

As for what BRONZ are doing about how stupidly easy it is to get a motorcycle license - interesting point. Most feedback I get is that the car licenses are too easy compared to m/c licenses. We've got a number of things in the pipeline at the moment which I won't discuss (mainly because I don't have enough information to open that can of worms) - suffice to say I'm working with some of the old BRONZ to try and bring back some of the stuff that used to happen. I can't accept that anyone from your group is trying to make it harder to get a full bike license. Harder is prolly the wrong word, a more detailed and skill specific test is what I would like before bikers are allowed to ride.


We've tried very hard to promote the stuff Andrew Templeton's been doing - I recall I discussed your attending one of these - and you were going to attend the Upper Hutt one - right up the day before when you decided you'd rather get on the piss and then sleep in - and that's a common attitude in this country. A lot of motorcyclists resent any type of education or any attempt to point out that their riding may not be up to scratch.It was earlier than the day before that I pulled out Simon, and since it was my birthday and people from all over the country came down to celebrate it with me I was not about to tell them all to go to bed early, so I could attend the rider training day.

I was looking forward to the training day, and seeing if there's anything I should be doing differently, but I consider my bike handling skills, and knowledge of the road rules are above average, so it got bumped down the things to do list.

You think there's something about my riding that needs work, more than the people being let loose on the roads on a shiny ninja 250 with a learner license?


And as for wandering stock - there are plenty of laws on this - and to be honest, if they were actually enforced people would be more careful about their stock. But this is a farmer-friendly country and to be quite honest - they don't give a damn about motorcyclists, particularly when all they see is us hooning around on "their" roads. You ride in their hood, you play by their rules.So what are B.R.O.NZ doing about this?


I'm surprised at your attitude here. You live just down the road from me, you know where I live; you know my number. You have a problem with me talk face-to-face buddy. I can do without a public bitching at.My delivery could certainly have been better and for that I am sorry.

The gist of what I said I make no apology for, nor the forum in which I delivered it. We can certainly talk about this in person bro, but I think for sure that this shit should be aired infront of as many riders as possible. We are most of us too lazy, and do nothing about our concerns, (me included). People such as you take the responsibility on and get a lot of flack for not keeping everyone happy. Most people such as yourself are aware that you'll get little thanks and do it anyway, but will likely tire of the constant shit slinging and give up eventually.

I would rather not be another reason for that to happen sooner than will benefit the group, but I also think that if you are gonna post up about your victories, I should be allowed to question where the ongoing battles are at.

I've had a lot less to drink today, hope I am less abrasive for it.

[riffer]

All good bro. I'll still drink your beer. And share mine.

You raise some good points, and to be honest, I really wish more people would. As you said most people don't say anything, unless it's to complain.

:)