The Ideal Way To Choose Road Safety Barriers – Part 2

Which Barriers To Choose?

The first thing to consider when choosing road safety barriers is the recognition of the danger, the awareness that something needs to be done. Just understanding the risk and doing nothing is not enough. However, the decision making about which safety road barriers to choose depends mostly on the type of the road, and the material from which the road safety barriers are made. There are some basic safety rules that need to be followed:

• Generally, reducing the possibility is more effective than reducing impact, but we cannot completely ignore the second one;
• Stick to the normal and regular hierarchy in safety measures;
• Including road safety barriers in the beginning of construction project is more effective and cheaper than adding them after the project has been completed;
• Seeing things in perspective with many other objectives to stay away from collisions and similar situations is very effective.

The most important things to consider when choosing a proper road safety barrier are the cost and the benefit. These are some of the most crucial factors when choosing the ideal road safety barriers, yet there are other things that need to be considered as well, like:

• Identify The Hazard – Hazards are identified when the crash history, speeds, traffic volume, road geometry, clear zone, surface condition, and the roadside topography is being considered. The strongest indication of hazard situation is a large accident history. This means that there is a strong need for road safety barriers.

• Evaluation And Selection Of Options – Generally, the evaluation includes both qualitative and quantitative aspects. Quantitative evaluation includes a quantitative risk assessment and an economical analysis, while taking into account the possibility of vehicle encroaching into the road, the severity of crashes and all social costs related to the encroachments. Qualitative evaluation involves engineering and environmental consideration and a subjective risk assessment.

Read previous article: “The Ideal Way To Choose Road Safety Barriers – Part 1”