When setting the proper safety standards for a highway, transportation engineers and municipal authorities must consider guardrails. These roadside additions provide an important safety function as a barrier between lanes of traffic and between roadside objects and motorists. In the event of a moment of driver error, a road defect, or even a disastrous automotive defect such as a flat tire, the damage and danger of a loss of control can be partially mitigated through the proper use of a guardrail. .

Before a railing can be installed, the right material and type must be chosen for each particular situation. Many guardrails can actually contribute to the damage caused by an accident if they are not built with the structure of a particular road in mind. Serious concerns such as vehicles bouncing off a guardrail and back into traffic or sustaining catastrophic damage from a collision with the same guardrail can arise from poor guardrail engineering.

In low traffic volume areas, where guardrails may not be as important due to a general lack of traffic or open space in which a car can travel safely, cheaper guardrail systems can be used. In these areas, wood railings or cheaper metals such as wire ropes may suffice as guardrails, keeping motorists protected and lowering overall project costs.

With heavier traffic patterns, guardrails may require specific shapes or additional barrier options to work with potential hazards. As a result of this need to keep guardrails effective under higher pressures, concrete barriers are commonly used in higher density regions, as well as steel frames where they are not available.

For more information about a driver’s right to drive on safely designed and maintained roadways, contact a car accident attorney.