highway cable barriers and motorcyclist. NSFW

[FZ09Bandit]

If you are squeemish please don't read.

The awesome state of Arkansas installed these barrie cables to keep people from running through the median and hitting other cars head on... they are; however, not good for motorcyclist. Let me explain.

My coworker yesterday worked a nasty trauma code. It was a pretty day, but with overcast, no rain. Some guy low sided for some reason or another on the interstate and ended up catching the cables. I saw this patient after they called it in the er.

For the faint of heart. Read no further. They guy was wearing gear. He caught the cables right above his right hip. It sliced him from his belly button, all the way back around to his spine lacerating it. It took with him most of his instestines, liver, severing his femoral artery. The rest is a tad bit graffic to post. Kinda makes me want to stay away from the interstate. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to install these death traps? Instead of hitting the grass, we have absolutely 0 chance of survival if we accidently, or god forbid someone push you into them. To survive.

 

[Dvan5693]

Holy ****....note to self, try and ride in lane farthest from cable barriers. That is terrible :/

 

[Ohendo]

I've often wondered how a motorcycle impacting or sliding into those cable barriers would play out (we have them everywhere here in SE PA also). Appears my fears have been confirmed. Thanks?

 

[aclayonb]

Got em' all up I65 here in Indiana too. I've seen what they do to cars and trucks - I have no illusions about surviving that mess. Hopefully I'd get decapitated early and not just dangle in the cables.

As a side note, I'm also an antiterrorism officer and at school we had to watch videos of that aircraft cable stopping dump trucks full of sand. It stopped them COLD when they hit it. The only thing better at stopping stuff than those cables is nuclear powerplant reactor walls.

 

[7UPyours]

thanks for sharing and I never had a good feeling about those cables, now I know why

 

[iviyth0s]

Jesus, I can only imagine :O

 

[FIZZER6]

Now I'm glad I don't live in a location with those cables. The State of NC uses a lot of them but here in VA I haven't seen them yet, we just use rumble strips on the shoulders which deter those who fall asleep at the wheel from going across the median.

I have thought about how dangerous they look to be for motorcycle crashes but it's really the metal posts they are suspended on that are the real danger as glancing off the cables at a shallow angle would not cause any more harm than a guard rail, sliding under them and striking a metal post on the other hand...not good but if you think about it you would be no better off if the interstate was lined with trees. Tree trunks don't give either.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I didn't read the gory details but could you provide a picture of what the new barriers look like when you have a chance? Maybe you could get these removed if it's a federally funded highway as the department of transportation usually has some input on these matters when it come to motorcycle safety. There are reasons why the K Barriers are designed the way they are.

 

[FIZZER6]

I didn't read the gory details but could you provide a picture of what the new barriers look like when you have a chance? Maybe you could get these removed if it's a federally funded highway as the department of transportation usually has some input on these matters when it come to motorcycle safety. There are reasons why the K Barriers are designed the way they are.

Vegas: If they are the same thing North Carolina uses they look just like this:

Like I said, it's not the cables that will kill a motorcycle rider, it's those concrete mounted knife blade posts holding the cables up.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

That's what I thought they looked like. It doesn't appear to be too effective keeping a large vehicle from crashing through this barrier. This is why they should use the K Barriers. No vertical columns are used, it one Continuos barrier.

 

[Ultrarandom]

These things are extremely effective. Have seen them stop huge trucks hitting them at 80km/h with only the smallest amount of stretch. Absolutely destroys the vehicle tough as all that force is exerted on a smaller area, stops the vehicles from flipping over though and causing even more damage to others.
Does not surprise me whatsoever that they can do this to a human body.

 

[FinalImpact]

These things are extremely effective. Have seen them stop huge trucks hitting them at 80km/h with only the smallest amount of stretch. Absolutely destroys the vehicle tough as all that force is exerted on a smaller area, stops the vehicles from flipping over though and causing even more damage to others.
Does not surprise me whatsoever that they can do this to a human body.

^^ Agree. Seen it...

Don't exit left and strike them as WE the RIDERS are the minority! If we cross the line its not likely to take out a van full of people (unless they veer off and do something of their own). It does stop a 2 ton cage and larger vehicles. Granted its not fair deal for us, but its saved many lives which could have been taken from a crossover.

How many bikes / riders hit them vs cars and trucks? I'd guess darn few but IDK!

 

[lytehouse]

From a motorcyclists POV they are very scary indeed....but, they saved my a$$ not long ago.
I was headed to work and all the sudden I see this Blazer from across the highway heading right towards me.....if it hadn't been for that barrier, I doubt I'd be typing this.

 

[agf]

we have them here in Australia as wel and we also have the same issues and arguments. but seemingly to no avail, on some rods with the "W" beam as they are sometimes called here, a flat barrier has been added to the bottom to stop riders getting caught up under the rail with their bike and mashed up that way. Kezza, Prebstar and Wolfman probably saw this when the road the Great Ocean Road here in Victoria and met up wth Humpy for their Tassie tour a few years back. They can prob tell if its a national kind of approach here.

 

[Popeye70]

They are used in Norway as well. Here, they are called "cheese slicers" by some bikers for obvious reasons. [emoji45]


--
Sent from the restaurant at the end of the universe, probably using a PC, an iPhone or an iPad.

 

[aclayonb]

Don't kid yourself about the cables not being the dangerous part. That cable cuts through about everything equally well. Don't get me wrong, the posts are death but that cable might as well be a chainsaw chain when you hit it at sixty MPH. Look at some videos of people getting sliced in industrial accidents, off-road winching activities, etc.