"Baber K. Khan" (beekay) 09/05/2013 at 15:48 • Filed to: None

0

11

I recall a similar crash where a Porsche test driver lost his life. Today, another person in his Gallardo lost control and went through guardrails.

As it turns out, guardrails are too high for these steep hood supercars. I am quite surprised that there aren't as many similar crashes I thought there would be but there are plenty (when I google'd out of curiosity) where Lambos, Ferraris are just swallowed by the guardrails.

Casper > Baber K. Khan 09/05/2013 at 15:52

1

Guardrails really aren't very safe. They are just cheap. They don't work well for tall vehicles or low vehicles, and can't stop much of a direct impact. All they are for is correcting people who are veering off the road and a shallow trajectory. Especially this style which are actually worse than the wood non-cable types.

Baber K. Khan > Casper 09/05/2013 at 15:58

0

Really? Is that all they're for in this age of safety and restraint?! I mean cars just go through them for the driver to have their heads chopped off. In some cases, the ground behind it could've avoided fatality but instead, guardrail took the lives like in gore movie.

I don't know much but I was just curious and started looking and they make no sense at all. If you can't follow the lines properly, then you should pull over and get some sleep or not drive at all.

dropthatclutch > Baber K. Khan 09/05/2013 at 15:59

0

"Guard rail" is a bit of a misnomer. They are called "guide rails." They are not designed for a perpendicular impact. They are designed for near parallel impacts.

Casper > Baber K. Khan 09/05/2013 at 16:01

0

They are designed to give way in the event of a collision to dissipate energy. The theory was that you would be impacting them at a 45 degree angle or less... but if you hit them straight on, bad things happen. That is why a lot of places are revising the ideas by either adding multiple layers, multiple stop types, or making them break away differently.

This is the cable type, but this is the idea...

GhostZ > Baber K. Khan 09/05/2013 at 16:03

0

The guardrails also help keep animals off the road. Otherwise, yeah, sort of useless.

Baber K. Khan > dropthatclutch 09/05/2013 at 16:04

0

I am sure they've done good but the google results just go on and on about people loosing life to these. Just wondering about the research behind it.

Found this: Though they have usually prevented far more serious accidents, guardrails have frequently ranked as among the highest sources of injury and fatality in a fixed-object crash.

SteyrTMP > Casper 09/05/2013 at 17:45

0

Yeah, but people have been decapitated with the cable guards as well. I don't think either are a good way of doing it. Double-layered rails may be better... I dunno what the best option would be.

Casper > SteyrTMP 09/05/2013 at 17:47

0

I didn't say the cable were better... they have the same problems the ordinary steel does. What they have been doing around here is running a cable under the steel belt so that low vehicles catch the cable. Better than ones like the original post, but still not great. The best option is actually just concrete blocks... but they got bad press and have issues of their own.

SteyrTMP > Casper 09/05/2013 at 17:51

0

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Actually, what came to mind were the two-layer Armco used in "Le Mans"... old, but seem to do better than most alternatives.

ASheep > Casper 09/05/2013 at 19:12

0

Story time!

A few years back I was driving along a 6 lane divided road, late at night in heavy rain. All of a sudden I see headlights pointing straight into the air, and then straight at me. An SUV hit the kerb, jumped the 4 wire guard rail on his side of the nature strip, ploughed through the hedge, and was caught by the guard rail on my side of the road. His front bumper, grille and front right wheel decided that they didn't want to stop, and flew out in front of me, along with a large collection of soil and trees. I managed to swerve and slide my car out of the way, but if the guard rail hadn't stopped him, I would have hit the SUV. The guard rail did its job, and absorbed enough energy to stop an SUV, but only with the help of a second rail and a bunch of trees...

Dunnik > Baber K. Khan 09/05/2013 at 19:26

0

Guardrail heights were designed long ago for passenger cars.

When an SUV or CUV impacts them, even a glancing blow at a shallow angle, bad things happen.

But hey, at least such drivers feel safer.