Egnatia odos one of the most modern motorways in Greece, and part of the Trans-European Networks, has a relatively good safety record, especially compared to the rest
of the Greek motorway and highway system that is quite notorious for the level
of fatalities. The driver, a Romanian national, driving a truck registered in
Romania that transited through Greece, claimed that the truck’s braking
systems failed and was driving without any breaks for more than 20 kms.
Just a few days later, another similar type of crash, involving this time a truck and dog trailer combination occurred on one
of Athens’s motorways. Again in a similar situation, the truck crashed
into a number of cars ahead of it, ending up on top of the median concrete
barrier. The driver claimed that the truck’s brakes failed and he drove
on the median on purpose, so as to avoid crashing directly on the cars.
The
investigations on both accidents will finally reveal the cause of the crash.
Usually in most cases like these, more than one factor contributes to the
unfortunate events. Road works traffic management, vehicle maintenance and
compliance enforcement, use of seat-belts and availability of passive road
safety features in cars are among the parameters that are examined.
Driver fatigue is one of the factors that have a direct link to crashes especially with heavy vehicles where drivers are behind the wheel usually for more than 12 hours per day. There are a lot of ways to understand when you are experiencing driver's fatigue and a few ways to deal with it effectively, with the best being to pull over and go to bed.
The reported heavy vehicle brake failures though, made me think of a simple road safety installation that is quite common in Australia but not in Greece: Arrester beds or runaway truck ramps as they are else known. Described by Austroads as a containment facility, it is a road safety treatment designed for cases of brake failure. They are long trenches filled with gravel designed to stop runaway trucks by drag and fiction. Emergency stopping beds, as they are also known in Queensland, they are usually located prior to or at the start of the tight turns with small radius like the one bellow.
Arrester beds are used on downhill road sections so it's not certain that they would be suitable for either of the crashes in Greece. They do have though, a proven record of effectiveness and should be examined in all roads that carry big volumes of heavy vehicle traffic.Maybe future research can indicate whether temporary arrester beds can be used in road works situations.
Driver fatigue is one of the factors that have a direct link to crashes especially with heavy vehicles where drivers are behind the wheel usually for more than 12 hours per day. There are a lot of ways to understand when you are experiencing driver's fatigue and a few ways to deal with it effectively, with the best being to pull over and go to bed.
The reported heavy vehicle brake failures though, made me think of a simple road safety installation that is quite common in Australia but not in Greece: Arrester beds or runaway truck ramps as they are else known. Described by Austroads as a containment facility, it is a road safety treatment designed for cases of brake failure. They are long trenches filled with gravel designed to stop runaway trucks by drag and fiction. Emergency stopping beds, as they are also known in Queensland, they are usually located prior to or at the start of the tight turns with small radius like the one bellow.
Arrester bed, Cunningham Highway, QLD |
Colorado, USA, Source: LetUbeU |
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