STUDY ON SAFETY BARRIERS ON HIGHWAYS NECESSITY & RECOMMENDATIONS

Abstract

The safety barriers and the safety fences are devices which prevent vehicles from
running off the roadway physically. However there exists a tiny functional difference between the
barriers and the fences: the former do not get deformed in the process, whereas, the latter are
designed to absorb some of the kinetic energy by getting deformed. Both types aim to prevent the
striking vehicle from gyrating or overturning and, within a narrow angle, redirect it along the
direction of traffic movement. For simplicity, the term safety barrier is used to denote both the
barriers and fences throughout this technical note. The present approach will help to evaluate
the necessity and requirement of safety barrier along roads, highways and to plan appropriate,
manageable and cost-effective safety barriers as deprived by site conditions.