The effectiveness of wire rope barriers in Victoria.

Run-off-road crashes represent half of all fatal crashes in rural Victoria and many of these crashes involve collisions with fixed roadside objects. Wire rope barriers are proving to be highly effective in addressing this crash problem internationally. To date no comprehensive Victorian evaluation had been undertaken on the effectiveness of this barrier. A quasi-experimental ‘before and after’ study design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of these barriers in addressing this crash problem. Results indicated that barriers were associated with statistically significant reductions program-wide. In addition, along two specific routes, reductions of up to 87% in targeted serious casualty crashes were indicated.