I’m not an engineer, road builder or anything, but these cable medians installed on highways seem very unattractive and unforgiving to me. Maybe that’s part of their appeal, or more likely, their lower cost is why they show up on interstate highways.
The Michigan Department of Transportation reports that a cable separation barrier has reduced the number of fatalities on the middle section of the road. Damaged guardrails are seen after an accident on Interstate 275 in Farmington Hills.
I had only myself to blame for this accident, as I was driving too fast in the pouring rain and crashed into the wall in the middle after passing the semi-trailer. Not wanting to overshoot or bounce back into the truck’s path, I swerved into the middle after the initial collision with the truck. Even in the pouring rain, the driver’s side of the car was torn apart and there were a fair amount of sparks, but I got away. I’m not sure if I would have had the same reaction if I had used a cable barrier.
I understand the need for a median lane so that vehicles traveling in one direction cannot enter the oncoming lane in the opposite direction. I recall a fatal accident on I-94 west of Baker Road a few years ago when a westbound truck drove unhindered through the median and collided with an eastbound truck. The eastbound truck had no chance or direction because it had already passed another eastbound truck at the time of the impact.
In fact, as I crossed this stretch of freeway, I was haunted by the thoughts of a poor trucker watching a westbound truck pass through the median. There was nothing he could do and nowhere to go to avoid the crash, but he had to anticipate it by a few long seconds.
After witnessing several very serious accidents in my career, time seemed to stop or slow down when they happened. An immediate adrenaline rush and it seems like what you’re seeing didn’t really happen. There is a brief lull when everything is over, and then things get pretty fast and intense.
That night, I had the opportunity to speak with several Michigan State Police officers, and I asked them what happened when the car crashed into the new median on the highway. The simplest answer they gave was also the simplest – those cables made a mess.
Located close to the curb, as on Interstate 94 west of the city, they throw a lot of debris back onto the roadway and close the highway more often than concrete or metal barriers.
From the research I’ve done with cable barriers, they work best when the barrier is preceded by a significant shoulder or midpoint. However, cable guards work best, like any guard, when there is more room for driver error. Sometimes what the police call a “leak on the road” does not necessarily mean that the car will collide with anything.
A wider median also appears to minimize the problem of vehicle debris breaking off and falling onto the roadway. Unfortunately, we are unable to extend median lanes on existing highways, but concrete or metal barriers may be a safer solution.
Regarding the intermediate cable barrier, I asked the soldiers the inevitable question that terrifies me about these cables: “Does the cable pass through cars and pedestrians as it seems?” A soldier interrupted me and said: “I didn’t want to talk about it, I just answered:“ Yes, like that … ”I prefer metal railings attached to wooden posts. They seem to be the safest. “
I didn’t really think about cable protection until I spoke to a rider last spring. He complained about the cables and called them “motorcycle shredders”. He was afraid to hit the cable and be decapitated.
To allay the biker’s fears, I joyfully told him the story of the legendary Ann Arbor police officer, whom I called “As I said, Ted.” Ted was a Highlander, a Vietnam veteran who also worked for the Salt Lake City Police Department after retiring from Ann Arbor. Earlier, I referred to “Ted as I said” as “cop snowman” in a column about his skirmishes with snowmobiles.
A few years ago, Ted and a group of like-minded Ann Arbor Policemen were touring northern Michigan on motorcycles. Near Gaylord, Tedra straightened the turn, ran off the road and jumped over the barbed wire. Ted’s old friend and partner “Starlet” rode right behind him and witnessed the whole incident.
Sprocket was horrified and spoke to Ted first. Sprocket told me that when he approached Ted, who was sitting but hunched over, he was convinced his old friend was dead—of course, no one survives a car crash like that.
Not only did Ted survive, the barbed wire caught on his neck and he broke it. Speaking of toughness, obviously Ted is also tougher than barbed wire. That’s one of the reasons I’m always happy to work with Ted and his phone support!
I just met Ted that evening and he was feeling a little out of his element. Hold on, my blue friend and brother!
Few of us are as strong as Ted, so my best advice is to focus, slow down, put down your phone, hamburger, or burrito, and walk carefully over those cable dividers.
Rich Kinsey is a retired Ann Arbor police detective who writes a crime and safety blog for AnnArbor.com.
www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP_RES/docs/reports/3cablegardrail.pdf? – Oregon study on the effectiveness of cable barriers to prevent crossings. And let’s not forget the main component of cable barriers, they are cheaper to install and more expensive to maintain, but studies have shown that they can cost less over time. Since we have a large number of voters who care more about costs than saving lives, this could be a driving factor. MI is conducting ongoing research into these barriers, which is expected to be completed in 2014.
As a motorcyclist, these cable obstacles scare me. The penalty for an accident is now an immediate decapitation.
Mr. Kinsey, you asked the same question I did about the new cable guard. When I see them, I wonder why they are not in the middle of the median? If there are road engineers, please explain why they alternate left and right?
The farther the obstacle is from the road, the more likely it is that the vehicle will hit the obstacle, causing significant damage to the vehicle and its occupants. If the obstacle is closer to the road, it seems more likely that the vehicle will hit the obstacle on the side and continue to slide until it comes to a stop. Maybe it would be “safer” to put the guardrail closer to the road this way?
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Post time: Jul-03-2023