Tragic Head-On Crash Kills Woman from Georgia
TAYLOR COUNTY, IA- Kmaland.com writes that one person was killed in a head-on wreck this week in Taylor County. The victim was identified as a 23-year-old woman from Claxton, Georgia.*
Reports indicate that the woman was traveling northbound in a 2001 Toyota Corolla when she veered into the southbound lanes of Tennessee Avenue. The Toyota collided head-on with a Ford Flex driven by a 40-year-old man from Illinois.
The Federal Highway Administration writes that median barriers are used to separate traffic traveling in opposite directions. Vehicles that would potentially drift into oncoming traffic are redirected by these barriers. About eight percent of deaths on divided highways are from head-on collisions.
Median barriers used to be installed only in cases when a median was under 30 feet across. However, data indicated that head-on collisions were still occurring on highways with medians of 30 feet or more. Now the use of a barrier is encouraged for any road with a median less than 50 feet across.
These barriers may be made out of cables, concrete, or metal. When it comes to cable barriers, the impact and force involved in redirecting vehicles that may otherwise enter oncoming traffic are less severe than it is with the other types of median barriers. Concrete is unyielding and involves more forces than cables. Concrete barriers are also more costly to install, although they are less likely to require repairs.
Beam guardrails are less rigid than concrete but more rigid than cables. These barriers are more expensive than cable but less costly than concrete.
It is important for officials to identify places where medians could help to reduce the risk of deadly head-on crashes.
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Sources:
http://www.kmaland.com/news/georgia-woman-killed-in-taylor-county-head-on-wreck/article_86977006-7cd5-11ea-a878-73523290dd98.html
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/median_barrier/