§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the safety implications for motor cyclists of current motorway central reservation barrier designs.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleThe current safety fences and safety barriers have been designed and tested to contain and safely redirect an errent 1.5 tonne vehicle—that is, a medium to large car—travelling at 113 km/h and impacting at an angle of up to 20 deg. They have been successfully deployed in the central reserves and verges of motorways and other roads.
No specific impact testing has been carried out with motor cycles, but over the past 25 years there has been no evidence to suggest that the steel safety fencing or concrete safety barrier is particularly hazardous to this class of vehicle and road user.
Clearly, there are inherent dangers should a motor cyclist hit a safety fence and its support posts, but accident records show that it is not very common for motor cyclists to collide with motorway central reserve safety fencing.