Why Are Safety Barriers Used For?

Road safety barrier systems provide a safe and efficient transportation on the roads for vehicles and pedestrians. They are essential these days and can be installed for many applications. Safety road barriers are mainly for redirecting a vehicle that has lost control and they absorb most of the impact of the vehicle. Road safety barrier systems can be seen on many roads in Australia and there are three main types every driver should know how to identify.

Flexible Safety Road Barriers – The flexible safety road barriers are the best option for minimizing injuries of the drivers, but unfortunately, they represent a big risk for the motorcyclists. They are made of wire rope with frangible posts between and can deflect any type of vehicle. In fact, they deflect more than any other safety road barriers, but after an impact, they need to be repaired for further use.

Semi-Rigid Safety Road Barriers – These barriers do not deflect as well as flexible, and so they are installed much closer to the hazard in limited space. Made of rails or steel beams, semi-rigid safety road barriers are very efficient for redirecting secondary impacts, depending on the impact.

Rigid Safety Road Barriers – Rigid barriers are one of the most widely used safety road barriers and they are usually used in areas with no room for deflection. Most commonly made of concrete, the rigid barriers do not deflect and are installed to protect road workers at high-volume road sites. The rigid safety road barriers provide the highest protection of heavy vehicles and they do not require specific maintenance, or no maintenance at all, depending on the material. Where flexible and semi-rigid barriers can not be installed, semi rigid is the answer, which means they are almost every time the third option.

Regardless of the type of barriers, the road safety barrier systems have many benefits. In case of crash, the safety road barriers provide safer consequences than colliding with tough object. If they are correctly installed and maintained, road safety barrier systems reduce the severity of crashes, including vehicles that have lost control. Also, if they are installed in median, they can significantly reduce the possibility of head-on crashes.