WHAT IS A “HEAVY VEHICLE GRAVEL ARRESTER BED”?
In a thesis titled “A review to Determine the Need, Location and Design of Runaway Lanes in British Columbia” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in The Faculty of Graduate Studies Department of Civil Engineering the section ‘Abstract” the following is gernerally stated : -
Gravel arrester beds are designed to assist heavy vehicles if they lose control.
Runaway lanes, speed control lanes or gravel arrester beds all relate to the same thing and have been implemented in Canadian and American highways for over 40 years.
They are used as a primary tool to minimise the risk and consequences of heavy vehicle runaway accidents.
Insufficient vehicle and brake maintenance, improper use of brake check facilities prior to descending steep grades, excessive descent speeds and/or relying primarily on the service brakes to control speed on downgrades leading to excessive brake heating results in a loss of brake capacity.
Also, the lack of knowledge of the road to be encountered contributes to a condition where the driver has insufficient brake capacity to reduce vehicle speed for the road terrain being encountered.
A gravel arrester bed is therefore placed at an appropriate location / locations along steep and/or lengthy downgrades where drivers can utilise them soon after realizing that a potential runaway situation exists.
In the January 2019 edition of Peninsula Living concerns of The Friends of Mona Vale Road were published in a featured article “Mona Vale Road UPGRADE BACKLASH”.
https://friendsofmonavale.wixsite.com/website/peninsula-living-jan-2019-mona-vale
For the Mona Vale Road East Upgrade the Roads and Maritime Services states there will be a heavy vehicle gravel arrester bed to help address the road's tragic crash history.
The RMS say the truck gravel arrester bed will be on the left-hand side of the left hand descending lane, but the group Friends of Mona Vale Road claim arrester beds need to be on both sides of the lanes.
"If a truck gets caught in the outside lane, on the present plan, they won't be able to get to the arrester bed,"
"The major flaw with this truck arrester bed design is the restricted length of its entrance.
"A struggling truck driver would only have milliseconds to identify and turn into the arrester bed. It's like missing the driveway on a house - once you miss it, it's gone.
A runaway B-double truck of up to 92 tonnes could be doing up to 300 km/h once it reaches the planned set of traffic lights at the bottom of the hill."
The RMS spokesperson stated, "The design of the road, including the truck arrester bed, was subject to a road safety audit by specialists prior to finalisation of the design. The audit also concluded the arrester bed being installed, as part of the Mona Vale Road East upgrade is consistent with road safety standards.
It is unclear what or which regulatory ‘Road Safety Standards’ are being relied upon, are they State or Federal.
Included here is the thesis referred to earlier, have a read, yes it is a British Standard study but still the findings are still very relevant.
Have the RMS got it right with the design of the heavy vehicle gravel arrester bed for Mona Vale Road?
Click on the link "Download File" for the Thesis.
the_need_location___design_of_runaway_truck_arrester_beds_thesis.pdf | |
File Size: | 10355 kb |
File Type: |