Skip to main content

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

  • ERF launches position paper aimed at improving Europe’s traffic signs
    November 10, 2015
    The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has launched its position paper, Improved Signage for better Roads: An ERF Position Paper towards improving Traffic Signs in European Roads, which is aimed at a broad range of stakeholders and seeks to identify key actions that ERF and its members believe should be prioritised so that traffic signs can continue serving the needs of Europe’s road users. Vertical signage is an essential element not only of a modern and well-maintained road infrastructure, but also o
  • Hyperloop Transportation Technologies adds key industry partners
    August 21, 2015
    JumpStartFund's Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) has added key industry partners to the core team working on the full scale hyperloop. Oerlikon, AECOM, and Hodgetts & Fung are all providing key technological and infrastructure support to the HTT as they head towards a groundbreaking in 2016 in Quay Valley California. "Our team continues to grow and, along with these new alliances, is representative of the collaborative spirit of HTT and are key to our success in breaking ground in 2016," said
  • Effectively tackle vehicle pollution
    January 25, 2012
    In 2008, Italy's first traffic charge named 'Ecopass' was launched in Milan in an attempt to reduce road congestion and pollution levels as well as to boost public transport through the re-investment of the pollution charge revenues.
  • The importance of going with the flow
    April 6, 2018
    Ensuring worker safety and up-to-date driver information is crucial to ensure that roadworks are not a source of danger and delay. Andrew Williams looks at a scheme on the A14 in Cambridgeshire, UK. In recent years, portable workzone ITS solutions have emerged as important tools in the management of major roadworks and system upgrade projects - and are viewed as an increasingly vital means of ensuring any ongoing traffic flow disruption is kept to a minimum. The technology forms a central component of an