Skip to main content

European Parliament hosts exhibition of motorcyclist-friendly crash barriers

An exhibition that will address the broader issue of the hazard that standard guardrails create for motorcyclists is being hosted next week by Members of the European Parliament Corien Wortmann-Kool (The Netherlands) and Ines Ayala-Sender (Spain). “Safe roadside barriers for motorcyclists” being held from 23-25 April, will showcase a prototype friendly road restraint system, designed to offer better protection for motorcyclists. Current standard European roadside barriers (EN 1317) have not been designed n
April 18, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
An exhibition that will address the broader issue of the hazard that standard guardrails create for motorcyclists is being hosted next week by Members of the European Parliament Corien Wortmann-Kool (The Netherlands) and Ines Ayala-Sender (Spain). “Safe roadside barriers for motorcyclists” being held from 23-25 April,  will showcase a prototype friendly road restraint system, designed to offer better protection for motorcyclists.

Current standard European roadside barriers (EN 1317) have not been designed nor tested with vulnerable road users in mind. Motorcyclists pay a high toll when falling and hitting unprotected support posts or sharp edges: roadside barriers contribute to eight to 16 per cent of all motorcyclist fatalities across Europe.

Co-funded by the 1690 European Commission, the Smart Road Restraint Systems (SMARTRRS) project has developed an innovative road restraint system taking the safety of vulnerable road users into account, which will be shown at the event. The new intelligent barrier brings several substantial improvements to today's EU standardised roadside barriers by proposing solutions addressing motorcyclists' safety issues such as shock absorption, traffic information, and emergency response, three of Europe's key road safety priorities 2011-2020.

"The recent decision of Sweden to start installing motorcyclist-friendly barriers in black spot locations, joining other countries such as France, Portugal or Spain, shows that there is a lot of room for improving road infrastructure for motorcyclists,” says 4764 FEMA general secretary Aline Delhaye. “We need to raise awareness on the issue, with the help of the European Parliament, promote coordinated policies at national and local levels to ensure the availability of safer roadside barriers."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • With C-ITS we can get ourselves connected
    June 27, 2025
    Workzones need to be safer for drivers and workers – and the technology exists to harmonise safety with mobility needs, says Swarco’s Daniel Lenczowski
  • Consortium welcomes Euro ITS directive 
    February 2, 2022
    C2C-CC supports proposed focus on interoperability and backward compatibility
  • EU releases funds to improve European transport connections
    September 12, 2014
    The European Commission has released US$15.3 billion of EU funding to improve European transport connections and invited Member States to propose suitable projects to use the funding. Proposals must be submitted by 26 February 2015. EU financing for transport has tripled to US$33.6 billion for the period 2014-2020, compared to US$10.3 billion for 2007-2013, under the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). This is the first tranche of the new funding for transport to be made available. The funding will
  • Asecap meeting tackles tolling’s future challenges
    March 3, 2017
    Carole Défossé, communication & information manager at Asecap, previews the association’s forthcoming annual meeting. With 72% of Europeans moving by car and 60% of freight being transported by trucks, road infrastructures are central to Europe’s mobility and toll roads form a key part of those networks.