How Road Barriers Stopped Killing Drivers
We've gotten way better at the engineering and design of road barriers - often in surprising ways - to dramatically reduce driving deaths.
To understand crash costs better, NPR has a great podcast on how life is valued: www.npr.org/2020/04/15/835571...
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🌟 🌟 UPDATE: Dec 12, 2023 🌟 🌟
New video is out! When does your car become unsafe? • When does a car stop b...
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SOURCES
It took a full month to research this video. Here are some of the most important sources I've used:
NDDOT - Guardrail Training and Information: www.dot.nd.gov/divisions/main...
WDOT Cable Barriers: www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/rep...
FDOT - Guardrail - How it Works: • Guardrail - How it Works!
Alberta Roadside Design Guide: www.alberta.ca/roadside-desig...
NHTSA Fatality Causes: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/...
Midwest Roadside Safety Facility: mwrsf.unl.edu/ for their excellent videos on crash tests they've done
FHWA Crash Costs for Highway Safety Analysis: trid.trb.org/view/1539891
Texas A&M Transporation Institute's Videos: / ttitamu
A comparison of freeway median crash frequency, severity, and barrier
strike outcomes by median barrier type pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29715...
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TIMELINE
0:00 Driving deaths are WAY less
1:01 How we test barriers for safety
2:37 When barriers are used or avoided
3:19 The surprising design of concrete barriers
4:37 How guardrails are designed to absorb energy
5:44 Why concrete & guardrail connections stopped crushing vehicles
6:08 Cable barriers and how they gently slow vehicles down
6:42 Why some people think cable barriers are dangerous
8:23 How guardrails used to impale people
9:26 How new guardrail ends actually save drivers
11:00 How larger structures are protected
13:16 What your life and limbs are worth ($$$$)
13:55 What if saving your life isn't "worth it"?
Credits
Drekken Pownz for his critical input on storytelling, content strategy, and design
Sam Leung for his feedback and listening to me complain
UPDATE: March 28th, 2022 I launched two videos since with the same deep dive on how engineering has changed over time. One is on tires: kzhead.info/sun/dp2aiJSuppqDknA/bejne.html and the other is on dental fillings and how they stay in your teeth kzhead.info/sun/bNOYaNuMZ51pZoU/bejne.html If you enjoyed this video I think you'll like them.
Noice
Hey, you might actually see this if I respond to your recent comment. I want you to know that I am blocking your channel to remove this video from my recommended feed. I have selected “uninterested” at least 1,000 times over the past year but it is there all the time. I only post this because you may see this reflected in your analytics and not understand. I may not be the only one this has happened to. KZhead is (probably accidentally) harassing me with your video. The only method provided to stop this is blocking your entire channel. Nothing personal or even professional so I thought it only fair to tell you. I’m not here to agrue, just inform. I have notifications shut off so I won’t even know if you respond. Millions of hours of video but YT insists on pestering me with this 15 minutes. No.
I am the opposite of the guy above me lolol. I'm so glad KZhead suggested me your videos! I absolutely LOVE this style of video, and I appreciate how much work goes into each of these! you deserve so many more subs, heres +1.
Please continue to make this type of video. I enjoy watching them
Love your channel, happy to have discovered it 😀
engineers in the 70: Let's put jumps at the end of barriers, sounds fun.
we have the show Dukes of Hazzard to thank for that!
Nice grammar
I SAY JUMP
Hahaha
YEEEEEE HAAAAAW!!!!!
The whole time I'm watching this, I'm thinking, "Oof, if I hit a barrier, I wanna hit THAT one, not _that_ one."
Same XD
Still not hitting any of them is the best decision to make
@@ivanbullykov3442 Oh, really?? I never thought of that! Thanks!
@@tristanbach4421 you’re welcome
same
I am entirely humbled a long line of people I'll never know have worked to secure my life and limb; we whinge about so many small ways we feel society fails us, but are unaware of the design, work, and policies that may have served us without our knowing. Thank you Andrew for a very educational video.
you are a good person
Every second a road is unable to be used = huge amounts of losses for logistics and industries so you're not what the government cares about.
@@edenassos if the governments in NA truly cared for your safety, the drivers license process would reflect that of countries with lower crash rates.
Whinge
Similar to how we underestimate and overlook how God created the universe. Interesting how our bodies are designed to do many things you never even knew about for example.
As a DoT worker I'd like to see you expand on the engineering of the truck mounted crash attenuators as well as their trailer mounted cousins. In my seven years of working on the roads I've been hit in crash trucks 3 times and have been on 8 different work crews that have been hit and in every instance everyone went home OK. Except the drunk guy that hit us at +85. He went to jail instead. Keep up the awesome work.
When you said he went to jail somehow I breathed a sigh of relief. I imagine much worse. This also goes to show how safe modern vehicles are - being able to survive 85+ mph collision so that his ass can be put in jail.
yeah now as a DOT worker are you going out constantly repairing guardrails? because i see this one guy going around roasting you workers for not having them perfect all the time.
Wow, 85+mph? It's a blessing he didn't kill any of your crew. I just hope he'll never drive again in his life.
The thing I liked about Germany, when I was stationed there, is that if someone drives drunk or impaired and gets in an accident, they lose their driving privileges for life, which is the way it should be in the United States. No second chances for drunk, impaired, vehicle manslaughter, or even road rage.
@@jarrrr69 Steve eimers hasnt roasted my employer yet but i started a guardrail inspection program because of him
Important note: 'phased out' means 'no longer approved for installation' not that they were all ripped out and replaced. Still plenty of older installations out there that aren't up to code anymore still spearing and slicing people.
Yeah I've definitely seen those types of barriers on the roads.
Correct. Its important to be able to spot the which is which, it might save your life.
Yep, I have a friend who got a piece of guardrail through her chin and jaw in an accident. Luckily lived with just a scar. (Edit- and I'm not yet thirty, so this wasn't like ye olden times either)
@@barryallen5507 so you would know where you can crash safely? That's dumb, all crashes are accidents, you can't pick where nor into what you crash into, because it happens too fast to react 99% of the time.
@@Dragon_breeder all crashes are not accidents and it is often still possible to control the vehicle to a moderate degree during partial loss of control. When I was 19, I hydroplaned on the highway at 70mph in a curve in the rain, the water was too deep because of welling and my tire tread was too thin because I young and broke, I was on a direct collision path with a Grove of trees that would have very likely resulted in my death, so I chose to actively counter steer (a tactic used in rally racing to control the forward direction of the vehicle moving at a high rate of speed on terrain with low traction) and allowed my vehicle to engine brake instead of using my brakes because that would have locked up my wheels and resulted in complete loss of control. I am alive today because of my ability to drive and the choices in made during that crash. Instead of veering off to the right of the road and continuing straight into the trees with only a seatbelt to 'save' me (more like kill me, check vehicle crash stats and impact of seatbelts during collisions over 40mph for context), I guided the vehicle back to the left leaning curve and hit the wire guard rail. Initial impact with the railing ripped my entire left front suspension out of the vehicle, causing my brakes to fail and leaving me with only one wheel to steer and a cable pull hand brake that controlled the rear wheels. I spun out and continued to redirect the vehicle towards the rail to the left side instead of the hill to the right side. I hit all four corners of the vehicle on the rail and did 2.5 full spins, after which point I had slowed down and dissipated enough energy that I managed to straighten out the vehicle even with one wheel and used my handbrake to stop just on the right edge of the road. We're not all old or slow like you I guess. You can work on your reaction times through practice. If the only thing you know how to do in a car is travel in a straight line, you are certainly doomed in the event you lose control. There are advanced driving classes you can take to further expand your ability to mitigate danger in a loss of control event, like sliding on ice or hydroplaning or spinning out, I'd recommend you attend at least one. The only way that you cannot pick where you crash is if you have total loss of traction (rare occurence), your vehicle systems fail due to damage (possible, but unlikely), or you are suffering from a medical emergency. "That's dumb" personal experience and the entire racing industry begs to differ.
Those cable barriers saved mine and my kids' lives. I lost control of my car during and unexpected snow storm and hit one doing about 60. Totaled my car but we walked away shaken but mostly unscathed. I thank the stars for engineers, we wouldn't be here without them!
That’s a good ending, but I hope no one goes 60 mph in a snowstorm anymore
@@Avathreyn dude the fuck?
@@user-ut9ln4vd5m could also be 60 km/h which is about 37 mph
Judging by replies I’m sure this David fellow is just swell at parties. In all actuality, it’s a relief no one was hurt in your situation. I have a higher appreciation for road barriers now thanks to both the video and this comment!
@@federicoalcantara4796 even 60km/h can be a lot in a snowstorm, especially if you don't have winter tires, or do have a driver who is inexperienced with driving in slippery snow. Heck, some rainstorms should slow you down way below that too.
I now pay more attention at the barriers around my city. This is knowledgeable and entertaining. Thank you Andrew!
As a guy that works for my states DOT I can say you put together a very informative video. I deal with all this on a daily basis and it’s great to see someone so well informed and educating the public.
I'm genuinely curious, so I'm sorry if this sounds rude, I just want to know more. Guardrail guy is a guy on KZhead that makes videos of him walking around roads and showing every guardrail that's not installed correctly because his daughter was killed by an incorrectly installed guardrail. Is that actually an issue with the guardrails where if every bolt isn't put into the exact place it goes, can it actually kill someone? Because I feel like if that's true, wouldn't DOTs be making sure everyone knew how to install one before letting them go do it for real? Or wouldn't they have made some other regulation to prevent it?
"head slap" sounds so innocent for instant death.
I vote we change it to "head splat"
*Slaps top of head "This baby can fit so much brain damage in it."
I watched someones head slap through the glass after the car we were in hit a barrier- we all lived.
@@Sabreeshuh that person is both extremely lucky and unlucky
@@kolby4078 Massive understatement. Head splat is way more accurate.
Today's engineers: "We need to reduce the impact force" 70s engineers: YEET!
“Make it a ramp so if the crash they dont fuck up our nice wall”
lol
"Aye if someones gonna die, might as well make it a show*"
@@andresacosta5318 lol
tbf makes crashes way cooler for ppl to post on social media, would be a blessing for society since they dont give a fuck anymore and just film u dying anyway
Thank you for posting this. im always worried about my family members dying in car crashes to the point of panic. You helped me a lot get over that by making this video. I didn't know this stuff.
Glad to hear! Helped me with my own anxiety too!
I'm a highway engineer with over 20 years of experience. Great job on this video. It has a lot of good information and explains MASH compliance well and why it's important. The historical progression of barriers also helps understand the topic and why it's so important. I've shared it with my group at work.
Restorable unit engineer's thinking process: "Just 5 more crashes and this baby will literally start saving us money!"
Omg guys, you better start crashing here or I’ll have to do it myself
It might sound weird, but you can always count on human stupidity. Crashes are going to keep happening, because idiots are given the wheel. This doesn't mean that everybody involved in an accident are idiots, no. What I mean is that in every crash, excluding some very specific circumstances like mechanical failure, an idiot is the cause.
@@PunakiviAddikti human error ≠ idiocy. every once in a while, everyone is bound to have a shitty day where they're gonna have trouble paying attention to the road but need to make a commute regardless.
@@yokowan I know, I understand human error. But I have seen and heard some genuine idiots behind the wheel. Think Karen T-bones another car because "she's too important to stop at a red light".
@@PunakiviAddikti those people exist but they're rare. I've run a fair share of red lights myself but never on purpose. it's unfair to say it's one in almost every crash
11:12 was absolutely hilarious.. Someone , somewhere said " Yeah, this is a safe design. Gives them a fun ride before they die."
I always figured the goal of some of these was to save multi million dollar bridges from damage rather than saving lives.
@@jamieh7725 Uhm... well obviously yes. The guy u responded to said exactly that.
I thought I was the only one dying with that footage 🤣🤣🤣
I was so focused understanding all mechanics and all stuff, and suddenly there is a car flying as it was rocket league 🤣🤣
@@huberttargosz318 smh no need
This was so interesting and fun to watch. Ever time I’m driving I think of what would happen if I or someone crashed into a barrier. I’ve always thought that it would spear me, make me go airborne, or wondered if it will even stop me from going into oncoming traffic. Clearly after watching this video the technology and testing involved is way more vigorous than I ever thought. Great video!
This video made me feel a little bit safer, thank you. I've always had anxiety in cars from a few accidents I've had, understanding how things work always helps me overcome my fears though
I had no idea the “wasted” land between and beside highway roads was called a clear zone or that it’s specifically designed to save drivers. I just assumed it was “extra land” in case they decided to add another lane at another time.
Yeah, lol. I just thought it was land to separate the lanes.
If you've ever driven in an area where a snowstorm is happening, you're likely to see at least a few cars that have slid into those clear zones.
@@featheryfemme Which is called a clear zone. An area to separate the lanes. For safety reasons and so on 😉
It probably is. In the UK the hard shoulder where you can stop if you breakdown. Now in the Wisdom of some highway agency it is being gradually converted to an extra lane. Now it's breakdowns that are killing people...
I assume in many cases it’s a combination of both, with the median being in some cases wide enough to add another lane or two with a safe clear zone, or in others with an eye towards replacing the earthen median with a fixed (probably concrete) barrier, depending upon predictions of future traffic.
"with enough crashes, restorable units save money" YO! We need some moah crashes ovah heah! Joey, go hit dat barrier a few times.
Going to the emergency flasher Bailando to Mexico
thanks for the laugh lol
That is like saying I need my house robbed more often so my insurance cost per. robbery will be less.
Y'now, I don't trust joey.
While safety measures have increased survivability of accidents, the root cause of accidents have spread unchecked in recent yrs. In Ca, Latino drivers cause a disproportionate % of DUIs, hit and runs, distracted driving. Disregard for common decency, the safety of other motorists; and, even traffic law, run rampantly amok among Calif Latinos. It'd be great if you could help shed some light on this censored topic to prompt proper public discourse and overdue action to address this taboo issue.
This was surprisingly way more informative and enjoyable than I thought. Kudos to you, Andrew. Keep up the good work!
My dad used to work for the state back in the 80’s. He said roadworkers got busted…sometimes, after an accident damaged a guardrail, if the machinery was tied up…the guys would just use older cull post to reattach to guardrail. These post were barely in the ground a few inches and were basically just cosmetic.
I remember in college, in our first actual engineering course, they had us do some problems about this exact topic to drive home how deadly serious engineering can be, and the hard decisions engineers sometimes have to make. If you're making the decision whether to install guardrails, you don't have infinite money. If we want to make calculated informed decisions about where and when to install guardrails, you will eventually need to solve for x, where x is the value of a human life. As much as we'd like to think a human life is infinitely valuable, that would make it impossible to determine when and where to spend on safety improvements instead of, say, improving the roads, providing public libraries, or delivering mail. So there must be a number. Who decides x? Hopefully it's never me.
Read this just Andrew showed the table that included the estimated monetary value of a life
I remember in the 80's, I was probably around 8 yrs old at the time, meeting a guy that had part of a wooden (I believe) guard rail stuck inside of him from a car wreck that they couldn't remove for fear it would kill him.
I’ll do it
A doctor makes a mistake, one person dies. An engineer makes a mistake, potentially hundreds or thousands will die.
If we can say the Carnage Alley barriers were only installed due to the media exposure and lobbying, think that that same money could maybe have been used to make barriers in busier areas where it would save more lives overall.
Only 2 mins in and I already love where this is headed.
A wild Mark Rober appears! Literally the first comment I saw waking up. Made my morning! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for being an inspiration to me, to help me dream bigger and create better things.
You brought me here
When this was posted on Reddit I immediately thought of you, lmao.
Henlo mark
This was truly and awesome educational video, even Mark approves!
@00:17 your graph parallels Dara O'Briain's standup routine -kzhead.info/sun/jK-TfpGgeYZ4iH0/bejne.htmlstart=1&end=33
these types of engineering videos are so nice to watch. They always makes mee feel so humble in all the advanced tested engineering that on first looks seem like something simple anyone could make in there own garage in a weekend
I never knew learning about road barriers could be so interesting
ikr
I never knew this much thought was put into designing guard rails. Mind: blown
this much thought is put into toilet paper.
@@Tycy2014 You too ? Some times I can't remember which hand to use either.
Nasa has a 60 page guide on how to splice 2 wires together.
I once saw them installing them and they were using this massive piledriver to put the uprights into the ground. Those upright supports go so deep it's amazing. Here where I live they have tried to extend protection to ground level to protect motorcyclists as the upright can tear a human practically in half if hit the right way by a sliding human.
im a layman so how bout a net
Always good to be reminded of the constant drive for improvement that happens behind the scenes
This is fantastic. After watching some racing films I searched "armco vs safr" and got your segment. What a great job you've done here. Really appreciate it!
Today’s engineers: “we need to reduce impact force” 70s engineers: “hehe car go bye bye”
70s engineer drinking a beer: *looks at freind* hey bob would u rather be impaled or flung into space
Hehe car go YEET
70s engineer: (in Beavis and Butthead style) "Cool! Yeah yeah!"
Hey they were trying!
@@SpecterNeverSpectator sh
As a truck driver, this is something I've always wondered about, seeing so many bad accidents with barriers. Thanks for taking the time to research the subject and for making this video.
You're welcome! Glad you're better informed!
A driver also , Dittos !
Excellent Post on Guardrails with historical addition & updates. Thanks.
Cool learning about things I see every day on the commute. I had a general idea of their purpose but now I feel I have a better understanding of why they were chosen over all the other options.
"reduces car damage" Every Car insurance company ever: Yep still can't be fixed you'll need a new car.
Insurance companies hate paying to fix cars
But they're not telling this to your next of kin......so there's that.
@@georgesgranger6362 and shops hate working on destroyed cars that are not being paid out the ass for, honestly that's the biggest thing I think, like having a new car with a warranty, you'll be the first one in and the last one out because every other customer is paying, you're not
@@zanechristiansen honestly, fact. We work with Insurance and warranty cars and let me tell you. Some cars people want you to fix for half the estimate as if your life style isnt worth a damn
@@georgesgranger6362 exactly I saw a video somewhere basically saying that, in the end it seems worth it to just "total" it and put a down payment on something else, unfortunately
7:14 here in Australia, motorcyclists nickname them “shredders” and/or “cheese graters”…cos you get clipped by a car on a bike and go into one of those barriers…you ain’t living to see your next birthday…
Here in Russia, we call motorcyclists "bumper stickers"
@@izperehoda my favourite was Stephen fry on Parkinson. You need a surgery…(look out window)…but it’s raining so shouldn’t be too long What do you mean Well you know our name for motorcyclists? DONORS
@@trayolphia5756 ye we also use that term but not too much. Also we have a slang word "crunchies" for the sound of a motorcyclists cracking bones
@@trayolphia5756 In Romania we also call them organ donors.
That's kinda funny although it shouldn't:(
Yay yet another awesome free educator on youtube! I love you folks and what you do, thank you deeply.
I seriously show this video to people as an example of a subject I never thought would be interesting but is here. It’s said that teacher makes a subject fun to learn or not, so you’ve done an excellent job on this.
This feels like something we would watch in school and I love it.
especially since we actually want to watch it
I'd love to watch this in school
Government employees toil in obscurity to make every day life safer and more enjoyable and all they get is scorn and hate. I'm tired of it.
When the whole class finishes the test early
This is the kind of educational content that should be on T.V. No drama. No annoying dramatic music. No exaggerative narrators. No over-the-top CGI. Just a very well-put together video that succeeds in making the topic guardrails really interesting! Very cool video!
what if i wanna watch dramatic music, and CGI
I don’t think this is true. I believe education shows on cable television should appeal to a wider audience who maybe are not as scientifically inclined than people who who would watch a 15:00 minute KZhead video about guard rails.
I just ran across this vid and I was amazed at the bewildering array of road barriers in existence to protect drivers ! I find the amount of engineering that goes into this both mindboggling and fascinating...
This video is really excellent, every time I see a concrete barrier for the past two years, I think of this. Truly a fascinating look at something that blends into the backround.
This was so cool. My dad was an engineer working on crash barriers in the 80's and 90's, and I went to a few crash tests as a kid. Unfortunately he passed away in the late 90's, so I never got to see his work as an adult, but then when you showed the first collapsible barrier I went "Hey, that's Dad's company's logo!" He's got several patents from '86-'98 on things like changing from the rigid guardrail ends to collapsible ends, as well as the crash barrels you showed. It was really cool to see the kinds of things he was instrumental in changing!
A collapsible barrier stopped me and my family from going off the edge off a cliff after we had hydroplaned at 50mph in heavy rain. It slowed us down enough that my dad was able to get control again and steer us back to the shoulder. Your dad's work saved us and will save many more lives to come. I'll give my thx to you so you can give it to him one day, if you believe in that. So thank you!
@@freddywesly If anything your dad's driving nearly killed you. Driving that fast in heavy rain near a cliff sounds really reckless.
@@cyan_oxy6734 not really. 50 is incredibly slow here in California for our freeways, and we were in the slow lane still getting honked at. Almost every freeway here is next to a sharp drop at some point. We just hit an unlucky patch of water going around a bend and hydroplaned. Even going 25 in a school zone, you can hydroplane. There's nothing you can do but wait it out
@@cyan_oxy6734 Yeah rolling over puddles at highway speeds while turning will surely make you hydroplane. Especially in the US where everyone's going almost 1.5 times the speed limit, especially in inclement weather.
@@freddywesly somehow every single time, a person who obviously doesnt drive replies something very dumb. im sorry that guy doesnt understand anything LMFAO
A well engineered guardrail saved my life when I got into a crash last year. Long story short I spun out briefly and slammed into the guardrail at 65-55mph and the airbags were broken on my old 2003 Taurus. I strongly believe the only reason I got through with legit just a few bruises and a very minor concussion+very very mild whiplash was a combo between my heavier car, the fact I didn't tense up, the modern guardrail, my properly adjusted headrest, and a newer seatbelt designed to slow you down slightly slower
Yeah I drove into a guardrail with a catchment net over the top, that net bounced my SUV back onto the road and had almost no damage to the car body
@@Selmarya I can’t tell if your trolling or not it’s funny imagining it in my head
i think the not tensing up during an accident is a myth other than that glad youre ok
@@sirepauly im actually pretty sure its true, that's usually why drunk drivers usually survive crashes, because the alcohol slows their reaction time and relaxes their muscles
@@sirepauly it's true, I'm studying physics and we learn about stuff like this, softer surfaces slow down the impulse (how long you hit the surface for) and tensing muscles makes your arms stiffer which means if they hit something they are more likely to break instead of bruising only
Very informative. I love learning how things work and you do an AMAZING job at explaining things.
I regularly watch videos from Ron Pratt (Midwest Truck, Scott City Missouri). As a towing and recovery operator, cable systems cause him a lot of problems and safety issues when attempting to recover vehicles entangled in them. There is one of his videos where I guy was trapped in his car and Ronn had to lift the cable under tension with a rotator tow truck so that the man could be rescued.
I'm suddenly remembering something I think I learned in driver ed circa 1983, to the effect of guard rails are deadly. They're there to protect the road and other traffic from the crash, not the people in the crashed vehicle. I hadn't explicitly thought about that since high school, but I shouldn't be surprised to learn that engineers have worked on them and gotten better and better over the course of time.
Lmfao so basically they said "Sounds like a you problem if you hit a guard rail"
So basically it was "don't be stupid and drive responsibly", to the now "some people are too stupid and can't be trusted to drive responsibly, we engineers need to invent stuff to save them".
@@georgehill3087 i mean most people dont intend to hit them
@@georgehill3087that's the point of engineering, making things and keeping people safe, teachers and parents aren't doing their job.
@@georgehill3087 Well, that's basically what happens when you can't be a functional adult in your country without having to own and actively use a car, can't go grocery shopping (in a realistic timetable), can't conmute, can't visit places between some kilometers apart, heck, you can't even go to the mart without owning a car, of course there's people who shouldn't be driving, but the design of the cities forces them to.
"Multi car pileup in North Texas has killed at least 6 people." "Incredible!"
Yea i noticed it aswell hahaha
Didn't know traffic in north Texas moved that fast. It would never happen in Houston.
@@perniciouspete4986 yep, I live in the DFW area where that happened and people speed excessively. The speed limit on the I-35 where that happened is 75 mph, but most people are going 10-15 over usually. Recordings from before the pileup show many of the vehicles were going ~75, even though we were in the middle of the worst winter storm Texas has had in a long time and roads were covered in ice. The sad result is a pileup involving 130+ vehicles and the loss of 6 lives. Even after that people still speed here :(
Funneling in with no where to go. Thank God for the lack of fire...
@Trevor W connotation dude, connotation.
A few days ago One of those guard rails that collapses to the side saved my life on the highway. Thank u to the people designed and installed them.
Well fan my brow , fantastic video, never knew so much went into it. Keep safe peeps.
Cable barriers look like they're designed to shred motorcyclists.
Looking at all the barriers, I dont think a motorcyclist would do well hitting any of them
@@ValentineC137 I would much rather hit a concrete barrier at a low angle than cables. At a high angle you're fucked either way.
@@lucaprinselaar Yea I think my odds of Evel Knieveling up the side of a concrete barrier are better than my odds of coming out in one piece with a cable barrier. I was in an accident and hit a car that was making an illegal left in front of me once while I was going like 85kmph and came out with no broken bones so not really much difference between that and hitting concrete really.
When a motorcyclists hits a cable barrier whatever side the ambulance is determines which bits get picked up first, cable barriers may be cheap but they are very dangerous to motorcyclists.
I’ve never seen them in Europe, so I think they might not be as good as concrete or guard rails.
even as someone living in the UK, this was extremely interesting.
Stop driving on the wrong side of the road!!
@@gsc01972 no u
@@tocopowerz3842 "this one is a violation"
@@tocopowerz3842 lol great comeback
Yo where's the relevants u.k still has guardrails ya lorry driving lorry sounds like a crap I'm taking a lorry
This is great research for a story I have been meaning to write. So, thank you!
Excellent video Andrew! Thank you for the knowledge sir, it, like it lives is priceless.
I can hear my dad saying "well, you're not supposed to hit the barrier"
😂
True tho
Best way to avoid an accident is avoid the accident... So your dad had it right....
@@kramnull8962 No such thing as an accident. They are all negligence on the part of someone.
@@MAGAMAN I never believe absolutes like that
Seems like all those 80s action movies where cars are flying through the air aren't unrealistic.
Action movies not realistic? It JUST CAN'T BE!!
bruh haha
Just like a car's gas tank doesn't explode when struck with a bullet. Or a lot of bullets. Or at all. Practically never. Like you can't break down an outside door with your shoulder or a kick. About the only thing realistic about action movies is how often people shooting at one another MISS. I used to get frustrated with how many bullets were wasted in action scenes (I still do). Then I learned that four New York City police officers had fired 41 bullets at the innocent and unarmed migrant Amadou Diallo in 1999, striking him just SEVEN times! This is why I choose a shotgun for home defense. Preferably one with at least a 24-round capacity. Accuracy Not Required.
@@terrifictomm I agree with all your points, except the door one. You can kick down a door, just not with one swift kick, it takes multiple strong kicks
@@Calebnelson24 Perhaps. It depends on the the quality of the door. Seriously though. What's with emptying your handgun at hiding suspects in five seconds when they aren't even showing themselves? At least they don't throw their empty gun away anymore, like the used to in 50s and 60s westerns. That didn't make sense to me as a seven year old.
Ive always wanted to be an automotive engineer and your videos help with that. Thank you.
Thank you for making this video. Guardrails are one of those things that I drive by everyday and, see the changes and often wonder how exactly do they work. I drove a wrecker for about 5 years in the mid-2000s, saw a lot of accidents with injuries due to the older guardrails. I saw how those work first hand while trying to get vehicles off of them and just wondered how this newer technology works. Thank you
Loved this. Well researched, entertaining and educational. Subscribed.
Blender Guru hey sexy thing hru ? 😘
This is such a random place to see you again, wth?
Wow, didn't expect to see you here😂
do nut
But did u donate?
"has killed at least 6 people.." "incredible!" lmaoo wuuutt
Incredible 😃
🎉🎉*N-N-N-NEW HIGH SCORE!!!*🎉🎉
It's the proper usage of the word, it basically means "so crazy you cant believe it" Incredible just happens to be used almost exclusively in a positive way so it seems like you're calling something great
@@SofaMuncher I mean his tone especially was very jolly considering the situation. it was funny tho lol idk
@@zanechristiansen yeah i agree man it cracked me up
Fantastic video. Well researched, understandably explained, professionally produced. Chef's kiss to you sir
Awesome video. 15mins very well spent! I especially enjoyed the insight into the variety of crash cushions.
I love how much engineering and research goes into these safety instruments. I assumed that highway barriers were there to protect against head-on collisions from accidental lane divergence. I didn't realize how much engineering went into the shape of the barrier in order to help dissipate impact forces, and kinetic energy; and to help contain rollovers, and vertical movement.
But still the usa has the most dangerous roads of all western countries..!
@@jacks3395 when trying to determine the most "dangerous roads" of countries there must be a lot of factors, not just guard rails and crash barriers. Number of vehicles, the weight of average vehicles, the expertise of drivers, age of drivers, the healthiness of drivers, length of roads, and location of roads (roads that go across mountainsides are more dangerous than highways due to the height and geographical factors), safety regulations, etc.
@@Marshark50 Wisconsin for example has a ton of drunk drivers because we're a generally drunk state.
@@jacks3395 Some say stroads play a role
As an Ironworker working on barrier rail on the interstate for miles at a time. A lot of work goes into keeping people safer on the road. It takes over 2 days just to put in the rebar to get a 150 ft stretch that traffic blows past in 1.2 seconds.Then it has to be formed and poured and stripped and polished… construction takes forever..
Love how people are constantly innovating to save lives. As a side note, people often get upset when people in government say some life saving measures aren't cost effective but money is a finite resource and putting a bunch of it to protect against less likely hazards inevitably means stripping it from protecting against more likely hazards. It sounds callous but if your job is to save everyone you can with the budget you're alloted then you have to make sacrifices to get the most safety for your dollar.
I dont think it sounds callous at all, I think the people pretending their is an infinite resource available when there isnt are the callous ones, they happily sacrifice lives through ignorance of their own choosing. Being willing to stand up and say no when you know it will cost more lives to say yes is a brave act.
I wonder what would happen if we applied these same values to military spending, Medicare or education.
@@abiku2923 the world would probably be way more advanced tech wise. "The future is now old man"😂
There is a saying. Like it or not you can't save everyone. That's just the world we live in. Accept it and move on. PS: dont even think about "I refuse to accept that!!!" Bullshit. This isn't an anime show.
Neanderthal Tom Cave Beast Sociopathic Parasite - cut the military budget in half and using that money you could get ALL of the roads, in the US, covered in concrete barriers in 2 years. that's not a exaggeration either. people don't understand just how WASTEFUL our budget is and that in fact money isn't really a ISSUE. that's just the federal government, local government isn't much better. all kinds of wasteful spending going on. really the issue isn't money, it's who lobbies the government more that is the issue and who ends up getting public funds.
I really love this video. Posts like yours overshadows all the Gigabytes of junks KZhead have. ❤
This is high quality content on whole other level, please keep up the good work.
I had no clue there was so much engineering into a "jersey barrier".. Man such a cool video..
I thought Jersey's were concrete and metal was a guard rail
Right? Very cool engineering! Now we should put those wise minds to work discovering better ways to get energy without hurting the earth. And ways of being more efficient. Doing more with less and also reusing and not wasting things. 🌿👍✅
"We don't live in a world with unlimited money. " Federal Reserve: Hold my 🍺.
If we made heaps of money the worth of it would become less
I read this literally 3 seconds before he said it...
@@boi_if_you_dont4192 Bingo. And that's why everything is about to get a whole lot more expensive.
@@boi_if_you_dont4192 have you lived under a rock? The inflation level is the highest it has been since 03.
@@iwantlee9510 making more money would lower it though right
YES! Please do more of this type of content. Dash cam reviews are a dime a dozen. THIS is interesting! In the 70s, I and my childhood friends were traveling with my dad on his work runs. We were in the bed of a camper shelled truck, when we were forced into a steel pole by another driver. The truck centered on the pole at the front bumper at about 30mph. Note, this is before seatbelt usage. Kids in the back were slammed into the back of the cab and the driver was propelled into the steering wheel. No major injuries. Why? We had hit one of the newly installed break-away poles that absorbed the impact and still kept us from careening over the overpass into freeway traffic. Roadway engineers are the silent protectors of us all!
Despite being rated for safety under a variety of impact types, guardrails may not be safe because they are not installed properly. Guardrail Guy points out lots of them on his channel: youtube.com/@TheGuardrailGuy?si=rDBX0i361E3jt_bR
"Media loves to sensationalise...." 100% agreed
Its kinda common sense lmao
yeah, that's pretty much the golden standard for media
This was very well done and very interesting throughout the whole video. Information like this is definitely something you can appreciate when it comes to the everyday roads we're driving. Shout out to you for this video and shout out to our great engineers.
Thanks! I just realized hip hop explainer channels were a thing. Awesome stuff!
@@Lam First time coming to this amazing channel and is already so interested-!! Also very informative-!!
This is amazing. I didn't even know this was a thing; I have never considered the engineering and economics of road barriers. Thank you.
what a fascinating video, thank you for sharing! I find it really interesting how safety is handled for different parts of society. Like in aviation, a single fatal incident can completely transform the industry, whereas with cars it's assumed that people are gonna die, and it's more about reducing fatality than eliminating it. It's too bad so much vehicle safety is focused on the occupants though while pedestrians and cyclists are completely overlooked. A few years ago I was in the passenger side of my friends car on the highway when a drunk guy crashed his suv into us. I thought we were dead but fortunately we made it, maybe due to improved highway safety features, so that's a relief :)
I really appreciate how you took the time to find examples of these systems in the wild instead of just using clips.
"Why road barriers stopped killing drivers" Me: "well it's their job not to"
Their job is to contain the car on the road.
@ピーター anime sucks
@@o.v4069 ???
@@o.v4069 your mum doesn't love you?
@@o.v4069 what?
This was really well done. I didn't know there was so much depth to road barriers.
Thanks Jackson!
Fantastic job... I mean I loved your attention to the details which is what we are watching to learn.
Spent most of my life building highways so it’s kind of nice understanding the specific reasons for the different systems I have been seeing for a couple of decades. Plus you kind of explained the reason for the costly studies the often do before even beginning a project in the first place when you see all the things that need to be considered. Road work in general is not as simple as one would think. Fascinating really. I appreciate your efforts.
What kind of KZhead name is that. Sounds super insecure
I respect you for making that your username. Very bold of you.
Get me an internship, im a civil engineering student
lng name, why not just take: common a'hole ?
This is so helpful. We have a hazard in my neighborhood that has resulted in 4 crashes this year. Last night's was fatal. Great to have this video to share with our city officials.
Did it help?
any updates?
@@shokodoll there's been 16 more fatalities since then
@@Elross_ 200 more
Crazy driving is not a capital offense
Good video, I wish there were more road safety videos available. You did a thorough job on this one. 👍
Your channel is very informative dense. Thanks for creating KZhead videos.❤
Really interesting - however the cable barriers are hated by motorcycle riders as the cables can literally slice limbs off. Suggest a follow up covering impact on motorcycles and the crash barriers.
And also low cars, especially convertables
In Europe they call cable barriers meat grinders for that reason. Great for cars. Killers for bikers.
He even mentioned the cost lol. Civilians are not gonna buy those things.
@@fynkozari9271 Civilians are not the only people that have to worry about cost, transportation departments do not have unlimited funding. Cheaper barriers means more currently unprotected roads can receive some protection.
Just dont drive a motorcycle. Lol. If motorcyclists cared about safety, they wouldnt be riding motorcycles. Just look at the stats. The stats for motorcycle accidents really makes me question their street legality. You literally just asking to die driving one of those things. And those guard rails ain't gonna do shite when the rider gets propelled off their bike and slams their head into the ground at 70mph.
this was a REALLY cool video, I'm glad you made it. I've always been interested in how crazy effective those cable barriers were when they were new. it's cool to have all this crash safety research served up to me like this. and I only just noticed this seems to be your entry into this style of video? holy crap what an intro, I really thought you were just another one of those 10 million subscriber info channels.
Thanks a bunch! To produce this video took a ton of research, building new skills, the belief I could do it plus an amazing community of people who gave me incredibly great feedback to get it to this point. It was so terrible and it took painful revision after revision to get it to this point. Even now I recognize there's so much more I could do but I just had to put it out to the world and see what the reaction was.
@@Lam Know that your work is much appreciated. Thanks!
If everyone learned to accelerated reverse bhop everywhere rather than using cars it'd lead to much safer roads...
DeSinc just wants to know which crumple zone would be best when he slams into it from a reverse accelerated bhop.
Since its your intro and thus a chance to learn -- I REALLY wanted to read the deaths per (something) per year but could not make it out. Deaths per million people, so 25,000 deaths in 1920? Or deaths per million cars? The new MASH guardrails image had type that was worse. Finally (I'm going to stop complaining after this one and just watch) the next was "...this compares two studies ..." which was ENTIRELY illegible. Why bother? Why frustrate us? One of my petty persistent complaint with YT is that the text is often too small to read ... unless I lean forward and peer, or pull the screen closer. I'm not even counting the number of times I've tried enlarging the screen. I tried googling: type script size per screen size but I didn't understand the results. Maybe you will. If you must use small print maybe you should read it aloud as well. "This chart show ..." Thanks for a good video. Oh. Recently a woman was subject to a PIT maneuver and her car rolled over. www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/pregnant-woman-car-flipped-pit-maneuver-arkansas/91-0f48c495-f124-44bb-af4e-437014f5a97f The police officer who had his lights on was trying to pull her over for speeding. She slowed and put her hazards lights on, looking for a safe place to pull over. He wasn't happy and used a PIT. The road was under construction and had barriers on both sides, I think they were what you call "F" shapes. The officer thought she should have stopped anyhow. Maybe there should be signs up saying "No room for shoulder stop." to make it clear to everyone. Now she's suing the officer and the force. Oh, and Arkansas police killed 3 people this year so far using PIT.
Thank you for great video. Perfect research and well presented
Great informational video, Andrew. Thanks!
I remember when they changed the structure of road side electric and phone poles so that the pole gave way at the base to prevent a total car crushing. That was a major game changer in highway fatalities.
"Nearly 6 people died in this car pile up, incredible" -That news dude lol
🔊 🎉 🔊 ‼️❗️ INCREDIBLE ❗️‼️🔊🎉🔊
so many lost their lives Incredible!
i mean if i saw Hundreds pile for Crashed Cars and only 6 death i would be supprised too
@@user-bo1ej5im9t Yah but choose your words wisely 🤣
Earth was destroyed! INCREDIBLE!
Probably the most interesting video I’ve watched during a smoke sesh in years. Wonderful content
This was absolutely fascinating. Great video!
This video just reminds me that, when done right, absolutely any subject can be fascinating.
but why do things right in school?
@@nicktw2386 lol you're talking to the wrong person, I enjoyed school. But I can appreciate what you're getting at. Some teachers are better than others for sure. Cheers :)
4:24 damn bruh.. head slap seems like a gnarly way of dying
I can't imagine what the injury would look like.
@@ps2bndled probably something like a watermelon wrapped in plastic what’s been slammed on the ground all gruesome like
@@ps2bndled you would become nearly headless nick from Harry potter
I like ya cut G
@@culture4519 oh
You did a really good job of making this super interesting and entertaining. Great video!
FABULOUS WORK 👏 THANK YOU ANDREW 🥰
The cable barrier is just like an string egg slicer for the bikers, i think. I saw them appeared in my city recently and that was the first thought that popped up in my mind when i first seen it.
I can attest to that. One of my coworkers at work lost both of his legs from those cable barriers last year from a motorcycle accident at around 40 mi/h.
@@MBG141 It will also not be a pleasant experience if you are on a Convertible, Casey Putsch goes really in depth on it on a video, and tells the story about some kid who got decapitated on a corvette, really fucking sad
Vulnerable road users will always be ... vulnerable, whether it's wire, concrete, or whatever.
Yeah I was thinking, if the cable breaks the energy in that would be such an unbelievably powerful whip. Think I read something about a guy on the deck of an aircraft carrier losing a leg or two to broken cables they use to stop jets.
@@rockyfalldownstairs When a cable guide rail breaks, the wire whips away from the car that broke the wire. If cable guide rail is installed in the correct location (e.g. open median of rural roads) there is not likely to be anyone around to get hit by the broken wire.
"Roads are getting safer" Britain: Remove literally everything that makes roads safe
Well maybe it will work out like having fewer injuries in rugby vs padded-up American football.
'if theres no people that mean no crash'
just need to remove cars, lol
New Zealand: Paints a yellow line in between.
@@_iPilot tbh yeah i'd be down for that
Andrew, thanks for the great video. It really helps me understand the concept while preparing my PE exam
Love this, great resource for new road safety engineers highlighting the dangers of using the incorrect barrier specification.
"At least 6 people were killed, incredible!" -Psycopath, Reporter
Lmao. Incredible doesn't mean it was a good thing. Just astounding.
@@redflame300 ye but the person die... The reporter should be saying "Sadly" or "Unfortunately".. But instead she says "Incredible a person died with like no emotion"
@@itzsaturnmc9927 true but, often reporters won't show much emotions to avoid conflicts of interests.
We couldn't see his face so we can't know tho
@@redflame300 you actually can see his face after the report... If you don't you actually can feel her voices...
You just completely captured my attention for 15 minutes talking about road barriers and I loved it. Amazing job on this video!!
I lived in Barcelona, Spain for 10 years and remember a public outcry to add a second guardrail under the upper one. There are a lot more motorcycles and scooters used on European roads than there are here. Motorcyclists were being killed by striking the posts, at an alarming rate. The government listened and installed a lower rail that undoubtedly has saved many lives. As a rider,I was happy to see the change.