Jersey barriers- are they worth the investment?

One of the most hazardous and difficult type of crashes to predict, occurring on our highways is the median crossover crashes. When an automobile crossover to the opposite lane of traffic, the drivers in that lane have little time to react and to take evasive actions against the vehicle coming from such an unexpected direction. Thus, the risk of fatal and serious injuries due to head-on strikes is very high. Protecting motorist from the vehicles that are crossing the median is very important. And it has been found that highway concrete barriers are highly valuable to reduce the number and the extent of median crossover accidents. They are designed in such a way that it redirects the vehicles striking them at either side, thereby enhancing safety and providing additional protection on the highways. The theory behind this is that it absorbs the impact of the car using its momentum and slides it up parallel to the side of the barrier. After the installation of concrete barriers at highway, fatal cross over crashes have been reduced to nearly zero.

They were first introduced at California in 1946, when the concrete barriers replaced the traditional but weak wood beam guardrails on the Ridge route highway that is present in the hazardous grapevine section of the state. This route had a 6% downgrade that was the cause of many crossover collisions. Then later in 1949, concrete structures are adopted by the New Jersey state, which had a similar treacherous downgrade. This initial barrier had a height of 19 inches and a width of 30 inches. They were buried into the road 2 inches deep to provide stability. As a result, they were successful in reducing accidents. Still, the highway engineers continued to tinker with the designs of the barriers based on the observed accidents. Finally, they were satisfied with 32-inch high and 24-inch wide standard barrier in 1959. Their base is 3-inch high with a side slope of 13- inch until they become straight. Then they were enacted in other states and became popular. However, it would bear the name of the state in which it was developed.

Though most people take the partitions that divide the highways for granted, they contribute a lot to road safety and accident prevention.

The author has been working as a safety engineer in Federal Highway Administration. He takes special interest on Safety barriers and has written many blogs on this subject. He recommends DCC for purchasing K rails. Visit DiscountCrowdControl.com/k-rail/for more details.

The Author has been working in an event organizing company for many years. She has a wide knowledge of barriers.