benefits for motorcyclists
As a motorcyclist you will usually try to avoid using motorways, but if and when you have to, you will be reassured by the safety benefits of the concrete step barrier.
WHAT THE BMF SAYS
The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) has expressed reservations on their web site about any safety fence using exposed posts, be it wire rope safety fence (WRSF), tension corrugated beam (TCB) or open box beam (OBB).
The BMF web site quotes research in California, France and Germany which indicates that the usual accident scenario involving a motorcyclist with a vehicle restraint is that the rider initially loses control and falls from the machine sliding into the barrier or safety fence at a shallow angle. Where safety fence with exposed posts is employed, the greater forward speed of a rider leads to a collision with the post with serious and often fatal consequences.
A similar collision with a featureless concrete barrier results in a lower sideways impact with the momentum of the rider scrubbed off by contact with the barrier and road surface. If the rider is wearing adequate protective clothing, injuries should be minimised.
Smooth face, less damage
The concrete step barrier and adjoining hard road surface is similar to proven safety restraint designs on Grand Prix circuits. The smooth 5% angle of the concrete step barrier face greatly mitigates the effects of a collision with the barrier compared with other systems that have protruding features. So, should you have an accident, you and your bike are more likely to slide along the surfaces with reduced damage. Your speed is reduced gradually so there is less likelihood of the vehicles behind running into you.
No soft surface
As a motorcyclist, you will know that once your front wheel hits a soft surface you are likely to lose control and are in immediate danger.
With the new concrete step barrier, there is no soft central reservation.
Posts, bolts, nuts and joints.
Steel barrier, by the nature of its design, is full of upright posts, bolts, nuts, connections and indentations that are simply the worst thing you can meet in an accident.
No Crossover
A worst-case scenario for any motorcyclist is to have another vehicle cross the central reservation into their path. Trials along the M25 have shown that there have been no crossovers whatsoever with concrete step barriers.
Oncoming headlights reduced.
As concrete step barrier is a solid object, it will reduce the oncoming glare from the opposite lanes of the motorway.
Go to the navigation at the top of this page to find out more about the benefits of concrete step barrier for you and all other road users.
These are the key benefits
for 2 wheel users.
