Steel barriers saved lives in two car, bus crash

[nzmikey]

Misleading Headline that 1 ....... Should have been "Wire Rope Saved Lives In Two Car, Bus Crash"

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10817061

Police are crediting steel wire barriers for ensuring there were no one was killed in a crash between two cars and a bus in Waikato yesterday.

Now I am sure that if it was a bike ..... it would have been Oh he was speeding & fucked up .

I know that stretch of road & it gives me the shits when riding down there on a windy day, I would prefer either a steel barrier or a concrete 1 .

As you were

[BoristheBiter]

What's misleading about the headline?
The barrier did the job it was designed to do.

[caseye]

Yep, it did and it always will.
Whether or not it'd save a motorcyclist for whatever reason he/she came off their bike is another story!
However, riding that stretch of road in any conditions, and I have, does not scare me.
I too would prefer a solid barrier, either concrete or steel.
Funny thing is , after talking to Hamilton Road engineers,the ones responsible for the wire rope barriers there. They did the research worldwide before installing the rope barriers.
That research showed that concrete barriers killed more motorcyclists than wire rope barriers did. Go Figure.
Those same engineers took notice of what was said to them in a meeting at the Ulysses club in Hamilton some time back and have removed some rope barriers in that vicinity as part of their ongoing attempt to cut road deaths there by removing as much road side furniture as possible.
Sadly for us motorcyclists, since the inception of those particular wire rope barriers approx 10 years ago now, no fatal accidents have occurred there as a result of crossing the centre line and head on smashes have almost become a total thing of the past.Whereas there was 1 fatal head on crash there on average every month.
They do work, they're just cheap, nasty and bloody frightening to think about going into on a motorcycle at any speed.
My advice for anyone riding that stretch of road,make sure your bike is of a safe standard before going out ( as you should everytime) keep your distance from other traffic and stay well clear of the rope barriers, anywhere you find them.

[Grubber]

This is an age old debate for sure.
I actually have no problem with wire rope barriers, as i have no intention of hitting them, or a solid block wall for that matter.
I tend to ride accordingly around any supposed hazard and it seems to keep me alive up to this stage in time.
They certainly don't scare me at all as i don't focus on them when i ride. I try and make a point of keeping my vision to where i want to go.

[oneofsix]

Isn't the issue with the story the fact that the WRB still allowed the errant vehicle to collide with the other two "innocent" vehicles? Now if the bus or other car had been a bike ... Especially if the bike had been in place of the south bound car the poor rider would be in a bad way. Would a solid barrier have prevented the north bound car hitting the south bound vehicles at all?

[BoristheBiter]

Isn't the issue with the story the fact that the WRB still allowed the errant vehicle to collide with the other two "innocent" vehicles? Now if the bus or other car had been a bike ... Especially if the bike had been in place of the south bound car the poor rider would be in a bad way. Would a solid barrier have prevented the north bound car hitting the south bound vehicles at all?

From what I was told when they first looked at putting them is there is supposed to be a bigger gap between the two opposing lanes.
Just the NZTA doing another half arsed job.

[CookMySock]

[....] and bloody frightening to think about going into on a motorcycle at any speed.

That's probably why they work.

My advice for anyone riding that stretch of road,make sure your bike is of a safe standard before going out ( as you should everytime) keep your distance from other traffic and stay well clear of the rope barriers, anywhere you find them.

That advice would be well-taken for any stretch of road.

Putting the shits up people has always been a good way to make them slow down and think. Not nice, but it works.