just looking at a photo in a national sunday paper of one of the 35 (amazing NO-ONE was injured, thankfully) trucks blown over on friday/saturday on the A1 and M6 - good to note that the “new” style wire rope barriers in the central reservation looked to have done their job admirably - being stretched right to the edge of lane 3 on the opposite carriageway but holding the trailer fast
i was a little suspicious of them when they came out but, hey, i’m no scientist 
They do seem to do there job quite well
They do look a bit scary when im on my motorbike though 
too flippin right.
be like an egg going through a mandolin. need banning BEFORE claiming lives, not after 
el gordo 78:
too flippin right.be like an egg going through a mandolin. need banning BEFORE claiming lives, not after
It’s a compromise, the wire ropes take the energy out of the vehicle and catch it. Even trucks, but would be lethal for a biker, Armco is ok for cars, but not so good for trucks, they can go straight through. Concrete is the best for bikers nice and smooth, but can lead to vehicles bouncing back into the traffic causing more collisions.
I think you’ll find most bikers are killed on fast ‘A’ roads either by going into corners to fast or by cars pulling out in front.
A friend of mine,who was a motorway maintenance manager,told me that the wire rope barriers are stronger than armco,and also easier to replace in the event of an accident,hence the reason you see more of them.
As time goes by,armco,when it’s up for inspection and renewal,will be replaced by wire ropes in future.
Ken.
muckles:
Concrete is the best for bikers nice and smooth, but can lead to vehicles bouncing back into the traffic causing more collisions.
.
Surely its safer for vehicles to go back in to the direction of travel than in to oncoming traffic?.
watched a documentary few years back on the wire ropes as barriers. was really interesting ,proved beyond doubt they were the strongest.
Looks like it’d do something nasty to bikers tho, rather like driving into a chainsaw… Then again, a bike hitting any kind of barrier at any speed is in a world of hurt…
jammymutt:
muckles:
Concrete is the best for bikers nice and smooth, but can lead to vehicles bouncing back into the traffic causing more collisions.
.Surely its safer for vehicles to go back in to the direction of travel than in to oncoming traffic?.
But with concrete barriers, trucks and coaches tend to roll or jump over them, AIUI.
As others have said, the wire rope barrier seems to be the best compromise we have at the moment in terms of overall safety across all vehicle types.
The idea is that the wire rope barriers have a “bit of give” in them so they absorb the impact as opposed to just pushing vehicles back onto the carriage way. I tend to agree with Allikat, they look lethal to bikers, but then in all honesty armco or concrete doesn’t look good for them either!
I thought this type of barrier was to prevent snow drifts forming as i think the first place they,used them was on the m62 above Huddersfield where the farm is in the middle of the motorway.
Maybe wrong though!
Mark
some example videos here