WRB's now with barbed wire!

**MSTRS:Me** · 31st October 2011, 10:42

Originally Posted by onearmedbandit

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** · 31st October 2011, 14:22

Originally Posted by imdying

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

Cheese graters then?

**Devil** · 1st November 2011, 12:13

Originally Posted by onearmedbandit

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** · 1st November 2011, 12:37

Thanks for the heads up

, a group of us will be using that bit of road shortly.....

**onearmedbandit** · 1st November 2011, 18:23

Originally Posted by Devil

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** · 1st November 2011, 22:00

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** · 1st November 2011, 23:20

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

**dangerous** · 2nd November 2011, 04:58

Originally Posted by Dadpole

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** · 2nd November 2011, 05:45

Originally Posted by riffer

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.

**riffer** · 2nd November 2011, 06:35

Originally Posted by Dadpole

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** · 2nd November 2011, 06:46

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** · 2nd November 2011, 07:01

Originally Posted by riffer

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** · 2nd November 2011, 10:11

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.