Motorcyclists have raised concerns over wire rope along the New England Highway near Guyra and say that it should be replaced with a safer alternative.
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Australian Motorcycle Council NSW former chairman Guy Stanford says the wire-rope safety barriers could slice a motorcycle rider if they were thrown from their vehicle while negotiating a curve in the road.
“The Council has lobbied the NSW government for the past 20 years to not install wire-rope safety barriers,” Mr Stanford said.
“I believe they are behind at least two motorbike fatalities on the mainland and in Tasmania.”
Workers completed the installation last week on the safety barrier which extends for about 5km from the Black Mountain turn off on the New England Highway.
Roads and Maritime Road Safety general manager Marg Prendergast disagreed and said a study of the 77 motorcyle fatalities from barrier crashes found just 7.8 per cent involved wire rope barriers.
“The choice of the type of safety barrier depends on a number of factors,” she said.
“Wire rope offers lower occupant injury outcomes, compared with the less flexible steel or concrete barriers.
“There is a growing volume of research to demonstrate the benefits of wire rope safety barriers in reducing high speed head-on and off carriageway crashes. For this reason, wire rope is often the type of safety barrier chosen.”
