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> Maybe I'll read this because I shall like to see his reasoning. Many guardrails used to be like this. My recollection is that when guardrail ends are buried,

> Maybe I'll read this because I shall like to see his reasoning. Many guardrails used to be like this. My recollection is that when guardrail ends are buried, vehicles can easily run over the end so the middle of the car rides up over the guardrail. This can flip the car over--either onto the road or onto whatever the guardrail was supposed to be guarding. Yeah, I remember this coming up in discussions in Austria as well. The current design of guardrails involves moving the guardrail terminal out of harms way: http://www.land-der-erfinder.at/wp-content/uploads/Leitschiene.png http://www.land-der-erfinder.at/wp-content/uploads/Leitschie... And for retrofitting guard rails between lanes where there is not enough space, they installed shock absorbers: http://www.land-der-erfinder.at/wp-content/uploads/Aufpralld%C3%A4mpfer.png http://www.land-der-erfinder.at/wp-content/uploads/Aufpralld... If you crash into those it crumples.

DrScump 11y ago
<they installed shock absorbers> In the SF Bay Area, such junctions of guardrails tend to be preceded by what look like huge plastic garbage pails filled with sand, apparently to absorb as much energy as possible without (or, at least, before) bouncing such vehicles back into traffic. The other extreme was a freeway case (locals to the San Jose area can see this now, on 85 northbound in Cupertino between the onramp from 280 westbound and the Fremont Ave. exit) where the guardrail began about 10 feet from the side soundwall, leaving a car-width's gap to the right of the guardrail. A perpendicular soundwall was about 30 feet beyond. One evening, a car went right through the gap and into the perpendicular wall at full speed. Subsequently, the guardrail was extended at an angle to meet the side soundwall.
- toast0 11y ago
  280 is a north/south freeway, despite the north side going due west in the area you describe.

DrScump 11y ago

<they installed shock absorbers> In the SF Bay Area, such junctions of guardrails tend to be preceded by what look like huge plastic garbage pails filled with sand, apparently to absorb as much energy as possible without (or, at least, before) bouncing such vehicles back into traffic. The other extreme was a freeway case (locals to the San Jose area can see this now, on 85 northbound in Cupertino between the onramp from 280 westbound and the Fremont Ave. exit) where the guardrail began about 10 feet from the side soundwall, leaving a car-width's gap to the right of the guardrail. A perpendicular soundwall was about 30 feet beyond. One evening, a car went right through the gap and into the perpendicular wall at full speed. Subsequently, the guardrail was extended at an angle to meet the side soundwall.

toast0 11y ago
280 is a north/south freeway, despite the north side going due west in the area you describe.