How Road Barriers Stopped Killing Drivers
7,969,048
Published 2021-05-24
To understand crash costs better, NPR has a great podcast on how life is valued: www.npr.org/2020/04/15/835571843/episode-991-lives…
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🌟 🌟 UPDATE: Dec 12, 2023 🌟 🌟
New video is out! When does your car become unsafe? • When does a car stop being safe?
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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/maintenance/guardrail/
WDOT Cable Barriers: www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/812.…
FDOT - Guardrail – How it Works: • Guardrail – How it Works!
Alberta Roadside Design Guide: www.alberta.ca/roadside-design-guide-table-of-cont…
NHTSA Fatality Causes: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublicatio…
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: youtube.com/user/ttitamu
A comparison of freeway median crash frequency, severity, and barrier
strike outcomes by median barrier type pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29715626/
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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 comp
All Comments (21)
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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: https://youtu.be/C9aX0vohM_8 and the other is on dental fillings and how they stay in your teeth https://youtu.be/9o_8wT0k33M If you enjoyed this video I think you'll like them.
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engineers in the 70: Let's put jumps at the end of barriers, sounds fun.
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The whole time I'm watching this, I'm thinking, "Oof, if I hit a barrier, I wanna hit THAT one, not that one."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Today's engineers: "We need to reduce the impact force" 70s engineers: YEET!
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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.
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I now pay more attention at the barriers around my city. This is knowledgeable and entertaining. Thank you Andrew!
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Only 2 mins in and I already love where this is headed.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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Restorable unit engineer's thinking process: "Just 5 more crashes and this baby will literally start saving us money!"
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Today’s engineers: “we need to reduce impact force” 70s engineers: “hehe car go bye bye”
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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.
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This was surprisingly way more informative and enjoyable than I thought. Kudos to you, Andrew. Keep up the good work!
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Cable barriers look like they're designed to shred motorcyclists.
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"head slap" sounds so innocent for instant death.
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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
