News

Fatal accidents that occur when a lorry crosses the central reservation could be avoided if steel barriers were replaced with concrete walls, according to a government-commissioned report. The study into HGV 'crossover' incidents by Transport Research Laboratory found that nearly a quarter of fatal accidents could have been prevented by the installation  of a "very high containment safety fence or barrier".

It examined 39 fatal HGV crossover accidents that took place on major roads in Great Britain and discovered that the existing barriers could not withstand the lateral impact energy from the lorries. In nine cases, the accident could have been avoided if a concrete structure had been in place.

HGV crossover accidents are rare between 1985 and 1998 there were an average of 56 per year, compared with 120,302 reported vehicle accidents. Out of 166,070 road casualties, 120 resulted from lorries breaking through the central reservation.

However, the Highways Agency, which commissioned the study, says it takes the results seriously enough to begin replacing steel barriers with concrete structures. A spokeswoman says: "What we are saying is the steel barriers are still up to standard but we will replace them eventually. We couldn't replace them along the whole length of the network it would be too costly.

"The installation of concrete barriers in the central reservation reduces significantly the likelihood of crossover incidents, is essentially maintenance-free, and is unlikely to require repairs after vehicle impact. Therefore the accident risk to road users and road workers on our busy motorways is reduced."