Guardrail Safety Checklist
State and municipal governments have various responsibilities regarding public roads. As taxpayer money funds these highways and streets, expectations hold these government entities to provide a certain level of safety for drivers. In particular, high speed areas or high elevation roads can prove particularly hazardous if guardrails are not installed for the safety of drivers.
Contact the Rhinelander auto accident lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, today at 800-242-2874 for more information regarding your options if you have been injured because of municipal or state negligence.
Guardrail Safety Tests and Standards
When a state or municipality installs important safety devices like guardrails, those materials should undergo proper safety testing. Considering that these guardrails can go through regular stresses from public traffic, the quality of the materials and design of the railing need to minimize damages and injuries. To measure an adequate level of safety, the following standards are used when testing guardrails:
- The vehicle cannot bounce back into traffic
- The vehicle cannot under- or over-ride the railing
- The railing should not cause excessive injury for motorists
- The railing should be strong enough to stop a moving vehicle
One of the major issues in guardrail design is that the force of the collision with the railing will actually cause the vehicle to rebound into traffic. With tough materials that do not adequately displace the force of the accident, this occurrence can become a serious concern. With lighter, albeit tough, solutions like cable railing, this problem may be less common.
Contact Us
If you have been injured because of a defective guardrail or a lack of railing, you may have grounds for legal action. To learn more about your options following an accident, contact the Rhinelander auto accident attorneys of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, by calling 800-242-2874.
