Those cheesecutter/wire median barriers

[Lou Girardin]

What a load of bollocks. There are median barrier systems that do a better job AND aren't such a threat to us. You can be as careful as you like, until some cager runs you into a barrier.
And I have seen the result of a biker hitting armco, there were pieces of flesh smeared over three uprights. Cheesecutters are worse still.
But they are the cheapest system, that's why they're appearing everywhere.
We don't even register on Transits radar.
We're dispensible.

[Edbear]

Aside from Armco and Wire, what other barriers are there, though? The footage does show the benefits of them, and I would say that there's not much you can run into on a bike without coming off second best. Head on into a car or truck wouldn't be any better than the wire rope and if the rope stops a vehicle coming over into my lane that's gotta be a good thing. As I said, I'm (even) more alert when along side obvious hazards such as these things. Cost has to be a factor, for sure, but how much for the more bike-friendly stuff? Would it ever be a goer due to cost?

[Pixie]

Concrete.
Sliding along a concrete barrier does no more injury than sliding along the road surface.

[Ixion]

The issue is not the barrier itself. It is run off. Take a look along SH1. There are sections of it where there is a honking wide median between the lanes. Quite enough for a sliding bike to stop, or for avoidance. Good stuff, bike crash survivability goes WAY up if we have a few metres of grass to stop in before hitting hard stuff.

So, what do the pricks at Transit do? they put in TWO lines of cheesecutters, right along the very absolute edge of the right hand lane in each direction.

With that nice safety area smack in the middle between the barriers. Useless and unreachable (without being cut in half)

In one stroke totally elimiunating the saftey margin, not just for us but for cages too.

Barriers is fine IF they also allow a few metres of margin. This has been shown over and over again in overseas studies, but Transit are totally obdurate. They insist on putting their barriers righht on the lane edge. No idea why.

[jim.cox]

If you're into the barrier for whatever reason you're farked no matter sort it is

Me, I try to stay on the road

=mjc=
$0.02
.

[sAsLEX]

And I have seen the result of a biker hitting armco, there were pieces of flesh smeared over three uprights. Cheesecutters are worse still.

Aside from Armco and Wire, what other barriers are there, though?

They have done a study somewhere that showed the addition of cheap plastic to the area under the metal armco to stop riders limbs etc contacting the supporting uprights works and is a feasible in relation to cost,

You think they would ever do it here though? Only maybe if they did it in Victoria first.

[Edbear]

I agree the concrete is probably the best (safest) option, momentary brain fade and forgot about that, (I blame the drugs). Do you mean the stretch South of Meremere between there and the 4-lane? Bad news along there at night! Very hard to see and too narrow a margin. Don't like it in the car, let alone the bike.

[XP@]

http://www.finnbike.com/Fema_kaidetutkimus.pdf

[sunhuntin]

yeh....id rather have the patch of grass that ixion mentioned.
when i was in canada, up northern ontario, the highways i think where 2 or 3 lanes each way with a huge ditchy thing seperating the directions. musta been at least 2meters wide. and a nice patch of grass either side of the outside lanes too. damned good idea! and for the toronto area it was concrete barriers in the middle.

i actually dont like that coastal road into wellington where the cheesecutter is....im slow enough as it is without that shit making me slower! and thats got 10k of no passing....means i get a huge build up frustrated drivers. ARGH!!

[Matt Bleck]

They would have to be the scariest(sp) thing I've seen!!!

["D" FZ1]

Definetly would not want to hit one on a bike, but got to admit they do their job for cars

[eliot-ness]

Aside from Armco and Wire, what other barriers are there

There is one obvious alternative, or at least there was before Armco and Cheesecutters made their debut. In the distant past, before the advent of motorways in the UK, dual carriageways had a median strip about 4 metres wide. Trials were done on the effectiveness of mass planting shrubs, All the shrubs used grew only to around 2 metres tall , None formed trunks over a few inches thick. Their effectiveness in stopping cars was amazing and trials on major roads proved their capabilities to stop median crossing by cars 100% with only minor damage to the vehicle and no harm to the occupants. A bonus was the fact that headlamp glare ceased to be a problem. However, Armco was introduced before this method was put into large scale practice and it didn't take long for the powers that be to see the benefits costwise so mass planting was discontinued and in time the shrubs were torn out and median strips on new roads were cut to half the width saving even more cash. Now, in NZ anyway, in the pursuit of cost savings,there are stretches of road with no more than a metre strip and a cheesecutter dividing traffic. The outside lane in these areas is not the place to be on a bike in heavy traffic. However, as is often pointed out, biker safety doesn't enter the equation. If a barrier will stop a car or truck it is deemed effective.
Planting could still be done, where possible, on either side of the barriers but it's unlikely that it ever will be. Much too simple for todays beaurocrats.

[sAsLEX]

The outside lane in these areas is not the place to be on a bike in heavy traffic.

If only it was that easy, half that strech of road they have put the shit on the left so there is no space on either side!!!

I think the ones on the left are there to stop people craching in to cows or something important! I note that they left a gap where the speed camera sits on one stretch! Kind of highlights their priorities

[Lou Girardin]

There is one obvious alternative, or at least there was before Armco and Cheesecutters made their debut. In the distant past, before the advent of motorways in the UK, dual carriageways had a median strip about 4 metres wide. Trials were done on the effectiveness of mass planting shrubs, All the shrubs used grew only to around 2 metres tall , None formed trunks over a few inches thick. Their effectiveness in stopping cars was amazing and trials on major roads proved their capabilities to stop median crossing by cars 100% with only minor damage to the vehicle and no harm to the occupants.

I was working on the motorways when the only protection available were shrubs on the median. We had a lot of cross median fatals.
Our patrol car was almost hit head-on by a piss-head who drove into the shrubs, but managed to stop before he crossed into our path. It was probably the fact that traffic was heavy and slow that saved us.
Shrubs do not stop cars jumping the strip. (Unless they have trunks 6" thick, that is)

[eliot-ness]

I was working on the motorways when the only protection available were shrubs on the median. We had a lot of cross median fatals.
Our patrol car was almost hit head-on by a piss-head who drove into the shrubs, but managed to stop before he crossed into our path. It was probably the fact that traffic was heavy and slow that saved us.
Shrubs do not stop cars jumping the strip. (Unless they have trunks 6" thick, that is)

Depends on the shrubs used and the mass planting Lou. Those barriers not only worked, they did so at speeds higher than todays motorway speeds. Ever see a car go off the road and get hung up in a Manuka bush? The reason it works is simply that the shrubs bend and absorb the shock. A tree trunk would snap.