Gamba aims to keep motorcyclists safe

Motorcyclists are one of the most vulnerable groups of road users. Their lack of protection from accident impacts puts them at particular risk.
April 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Motorcyclists are one of the most vulnerable groups of road users. Their lack of protection from accident impacts puts them at particular risk.


And while many modern crash barriers work well in redirecting vehicles back along the median, rather than crossing the central reservation and causing head-on crashes, these barriers do not work well with motorcyclists, says 8398 Gamba Safety.

Hitting a barrier’s support or metal edge can cause severe injuries, even death.

The Italian company is launching a new system that can replace or upgrade existing barriers and greatly reduce the impact force involved.

It consists of a sliding cable barrier system that is placed in front of existing barriers. Unlike most cable-based restraint systems, the Gamba Sliding Coated Cable Barrier (GSCCBS) does not have pre-tensioned cables. Instead, the cables have a certain amount of ‘give’.

This means, says Gamba, that the cables absorb up to 80% of the impact force, dissipating it along the cable and into the ground. Additionally, a net or special cloth fixed horizontally along the base of the barrier ‘catches’ motorcyclists, rather than bouncing them back into the traffic stream.

The cables have a steel core, surrounded by several layers of woven polyester and Kevlar. Even if the central cable snaps under the impact, the layers of fabric prevent any debris being scattered along the roadway.

Gamba Safety’s new system has been launched in co-operation with ANAS, Italy’s Roads and Highways Agency, which has just received €2 million to upgrade existing barriers.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Dubai upgrades traffic enforcement
    June 19, 2015
    Dubai Traffic Police is upgrading its enforcement on the arterial roads of the emirate, including the six-lane Sheikh Zayed Road. Over fifty new Vitronic PoliScan LIDAR systems will replace the existing radar-based speed cameras, enhancing the enforcement capabilities of the authorities. In addition to simultaneous speed enforcement of multiple vehicles across all lanes, the police can now automatically document vehicles that are tailgating or driving on the shoulder – two major causes of serious acciden
    Read More
  • Is machine vision the future of enforcement?
    January 25, 2012
    Leading automated enforcement system suppliers talk about how they see machine vision technology affecting the sector in the coming years
    Read More
  • Hawaii backs road user charging to replace fuel tax
    August 7, 2019
    Fuel tax revenue in Hawaii is falling - and even in paradise, someone has to pay. Adam Hill talks to Hawaii DoT’s Scot Uruda about a major change in the way the state funds road improvements All over the world, governments, transportation agencies and local authorities are casting around for new forms of revenue as the money from taxes imposed on fuel begins to trickle away. Spending is outstripping tax take as a combination of more efficient internal combustion engines and the increasing take-up of cars
    Read More
  • Kapsch TrafficCom: 'The city is not made for cars'
    October 22, 2018
    Traffic can be a really big challenge. When you’re stuck, you’re stuck. Everything comes to a standstill. But Alexander Lewald describes how existing infrastructures can be used more efficiently and how demand can be managed. A few figures to start with: in Los Angeles, the average driver spends 102 hours a year in traffic – that’s more than four days. This figure is 91 hours in Moscow and New York, 74 in London, 69 in Paris, 51 hours in Munich and still 40 hours in Vienna. Traffic is what causes
    Read More

Highlighted Content