Highway Barriers

[Old Michael]

These things.

They "redirect" four-wheeled vehicles well, I'm sure.

But motorcycles?

If you were to get a front tire on one, or both tires - at a shallow angle-, what would happen?

Would it just gently "divert" you back into the flow of traffic,

or would you be catapulted into the friggin' sky and come down two lanes

over in front of a Kenworth, ---or be pitched over the wall to the left?

Just wondering, if... uh, anyone had an idea.

(Great sky in that photo, huh?)

And insomnia. What's that all about....?

 

[Dudewado]

And insomnia. What's that all about....?

Yeah, What's up with insomnia? Me.

I'm afraid those barriers wouldn't do anything to you "gently". If you went in to one, you would become one with the wall.

Highway engineers don't care about us. In some sections of the freeway in Oregon, they found a cheap method; Steel cables held up with nice metal poles.

 

[gearman]

In some sections of the freeway in Oregon, they found a cheap method; Steel cables held up with nice metal poles.

Same here in Ohio. They talk the talk about making roads safer for bikes, but that's all it is...talk.

 

[happyPuppy]

In WA we too have the have these horrid cable dividers on I-5. I see 2 options go over into the other lanes or go under it and really get some serious injuries.

 

[Toecutter]

Where will they send you?

Onto the ground, where you will be promptly run over by the ***** cager immediately behind you, and you will be done taking pictures. Just stay away! I think one of those was an important factor in Jill's DH's big wipeout, caused by a cager, IIRC.

I got a bit close to one once, up on Pacheco Pass, when a big rig decided to change lanes while I was passing him. Right hand front brake, left thumb horn button, and I was clear of danger by the time he aborted the maneuver.

I pass other vehicles much quicker now, as a result of that incident....

 

[wfooshee]

They don't redirect 4-wheeed vehicles. They're designed to grab the front wheel and keep it steered into the wall, to keep it from going back across the road across traffic. If you actually got your front wheel into it, you'd probably go down away from the wall, and right into traffic.

 

[TCMike]

I would suggest not riding into them. That way you don't have to find out.

 

[BwanaDik]

We have these all over Texas on the interchange "flyovers". About once or twice a year somebody looses it in the corner and invariably gets pitched over the top of them and then falls 100-150 feet to the ground below. The bike stays on the freeway. You don't get kicked back into traffic, you go over the top because of your relative elevation above them. You're bike may stay in the lane, you won't. If you notice when you ride next to them, nearly all you body is above the top of them. Most hood lines of cages are below the top, even a big rigs center of gravity (the cab and chassis at least) is at or below the top.

They're called "Jersey barriers" BTW

Edit: Just noticed yours has some sort of wood/concrete (?) extension above the concrete. So it looks like you'd be thrown into that instead of the oncoming traffic. Are these extensions everywhere in CA? I don't remember seeing them last time I was there. Might be effective is reducing "rubbernecking" if there is an accident in the oncoming traffic so your side can't see it.

 

[johnny80s]

We have these all over Texas on the interchange "flyovers". About once or twice a year somebody looses it in the corner and invariably gets pitched over the top of them and then falls 100-150 feet to the ground below. The bike stays on the freeway. You don't get kicked back into traffic, you go over the top because of your relative elevation above them. You're bike may stay in the lane, you won't. If you notice when you ride next to them, nearly all you body is above the top of them. Most hood lines of cages are below the top, even a big rigs center of gravity (the cab and chassis at least) is at or below the top.
They're called "Jersey barriers" BTW

Edit: Just noticed yours has some sort of wood/concrete (?) extension above the concrete. So it looks like you'd be thrown into that instead of the oncoming traffic. Are these extensions everywhere in CA? I don't remember seeing them last time I was there. Might be effective is reducing "rubbernecking" if there is an accident in the oncoming traffic so your side can't see it.

No there was probably construction going on just on the other side.

 

[user 6393]

I'd rather take my chances with the concrete dividers instead of the cables ones that seems to be showing up in the Fraser Valley here as well.

A bounce is one thing, being cut in 2? Nah....no thanks

 

[FJRBluesman]

I think the idea is not to hit them... or anything, just MHO.

OM do you also you use the dots on the road as an alarm clock to wake you up? :dribble:

 

[wheatonFJR]

Don't get any ideas that any sort of fixed object is better to run into than others when travelling at hwy speeds.

Whatever it is, however it is built, will seriously shorten you lifespan in an abrupt manner. Have your I.C.E. info handy if you plan on testing this theory out.

 

[wfooshee]

That upper barrier is to eliminate oncoming headlight glare, as during construction the lanes may actually be adjacent, no median.

 

[Texan]

2:49 am is a difficult time. Too late to take an ambien. Too early to get up. And when you post topics at that hour, you tend to write about things that make no sense.

 

[painman]

Here in sunny Kalifornia, land of illegal immigration, they are called "K" rails, per the shape of said barrier, excluding the top portion. I hauled a few of these to various sites on the back of a 48' flat-bed trailer several years ago. They do deflect a vehicle depending on angle of contact. Motorcycles not included IMO, but if they did the landing wouldn't be pretty.

So, Michael, is the thought of crashing an occuring thought or was time moving very slowly when you posted this? Just go out and ride safely my friend and have some fun. And don't forget to stop and take more pics. Take care, Del. aka, Painman. <><

 

[Geezer]

Permanent concrete barriers with the same profile are common in Jersey. I was in a Firebird one time when we were squeezed over too far by merging traffic and the front tire actually rode up the barrier about half way before the car was pitched back into it's lane. I wasn't driving so I don't know if the driver input had anything to do with the result. Luckily, all worked out well and there was no crash and no damage to the car. That intersection has been redesigned several times since then.

 

[luvtoride]

These are sometimes called Jersey barriers... & as you can readily see by my presence here in VA... they do not work.

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

OM..... by your picture, you are in the fast lane.... that means your

are going...... 30.... maybe 35 mph, so at your normal hywy speed you might get

a ****oo on your knee, now take your *** to bed and say goodnight!!! you posted this

question at 3am !!!!

B.

 

[LDRydr]

In WA we too have the have these horrid cable dividers on I-5. I see 2 options go over into the other lanes or go under it and really get some serious injuries.

From the looks of THIS article it looks like we'll be seeing more and more cable barriers installed in the future. The ones pictured are the type I've seen installed in Oregon and Washington.

A couple of quotes from the site: "Solution: Promote the accelerated deployment of cable median barriers"

and

"Some motorcyclists have expressed concerns over cable barriers. Researchers in the United Kingdom, however, found little difference between crashes into cable median barriers and other barrier types. According to the data, most riders are separated from their motorcycles soon after leaving the pavement and are sliding on the ground by the time they reached the barrier. The data also did not show that cable barriers cause extraordinary injuries."