Crossover Crashes at Median Strips Equipped with Barriers on a French Motorway Network

Abstract

Examination of the accidents in which vehicles cross median barriers on part of the French interurban motorway network shows that the phenomenon is rare. In 7 percent of accidents in which trucks collide with median barriers, the vehicles pass through the barrier versus 0.5 percent for light vehicles. The severity of the accidents in which vehicles go through the barrier is significantly higher than for other types (19 percent fatal versus 1.3 percent). New Jersey–type concrete barriers are crossed in 0.3 percent of accidents involving collisions with median barriers versus 1.3 percent with guardrails, but the number of casualties in crashes involving concrete devices is 1.7 times higher. This increase in severity is not observed if the focus is on serious injuries and fatalities. Some ideas on reducing the number of median barrier crossings significantly without increasing average median barrier collision accident severity are given with regard to narrow median strips.