Death on the roads-Spain

I make no apologies for bringing this topic to your attention again. Today in Madrid another big rally with motorcyclists campaigning against what we know here as "quita miedos- fear removers" basically that is road side guard rails.

Up to now this year 426 people have been killed on two wheeled vehicles. of those 369 were motorcyclists. terrible stats aren't they? But the biggest concerning factor which can affect car drivers also is that 50% of those motorcyclists were killed following collision with the guard rails.

They're a double edged sword though arn't they as what would have happened if a car/bike had crashed and they were not there? Might wipe out some pedestrians.

Without really looking into it, i would say that they are useful in some places, not only to protect pedestrians, but also to stop them from crossing in dangerous places. I don't like it when they cover an entire street with them, without reason.

They are rarely found in town or city streets,however as soon as you get out of town you find them. They are not there to protect pedestrians at all. Spain does not normally provide pavements out of built up areas. It cannot be denied that many do stop vehicles going over the edge of drops, but the secret is in the "quita miedos" it is so that car drivers feel safer travelling along hilly and windy roads.

The metal rails more often than not simply throw cars and bikes back on to the carriageway, when other systems exist that absorb the impact much better and do not inflict the same kind of injuries.

But the uprights themseleves are the biggest problem, they are often made of "H" section iron and a surprisingly low speed impact with those has seen limbs having to be amputated and even worse many more killed. Part of the problem here is the distance between the lower guard rail and the floor which is often not quite enough for a full fallen body to pass under but enough to allow serious damge to be done.

Originally Posted by Pedrosa

They are rarely found in town or city streets,however as soon as yo...done.

In England there has been legislation passed through that has started the appearance of these on the end of every bit of road furniture. It chills me when I see them. It's the massive lip around the edge that looks likely to start cutting squares out of bikers.