Guardrail Effectiveness Against Semi-Trucks: A Safety Analysis

Semi trucks, due to their sheer size, can prove highly dangerous. While government agencies and other stake-holders have improved the features of guardrails through initiatives and legislation, there is still evidence that semis can easily go through them.

Identification

• In 1998, the Federal Highway Administration affected a new initiative to better highway safety. Among the reforms was an improvement to the composition and strength of highway guardrails. In short, this was done to accommodate the proliferation of bigger vehicles like pick-ups and sport utilities. These reforms did not specifically target semi trucks.

Considerations

• Most modern guardrails are fashioned out of galvanized steel and concrete, two of the strongest construction materials available. However, their ability to stop a semi truck is going to depend on a number of factors including the angle of impact, the speed of the truck and the contour of the road.

Examples

• In 2010, Painseville, Ohio, saw a semi go through a guardrail after it had rolled on its side. In 2011, a semi hit the guardrail and subsequently had 3/4 of its body hanging over it in Indiana. Also in 2011, a semi truck burst through a guardrail in Canada, affecting dozens of other vehicles and killing one individual.