SELECTION CRITERIA
Brifen wire rope safety fence is an unrivalled safety barrier system used on Australian roads, highways and motorways due to its unique features -
* Quick and easy to install requiring no heavy equipment or specialised tools.
* Very low repair and maintenance costs. Repair is quick, simple and carried out manually without the need for mechanical equipment.
* Cost per metre for supply and installation is competitive with other single sided barrier systems.
* Cost per metre for supply and installation is markedly less than for doulbe sided barrier systems.
* Its performance has been proven by crash testing to UK, USA, Swedish and French standards. It is the only fence tested in a 'verge' situation with a sheer drop immediately behind the fence.
* Unrivalled safety record with no deaths in 30 years in the 30 countries that it has been installed, including Australia.
* Impact generally results in lower level of damage to the impacting vehicle and result
STANDARDS
INTRODUCTION
This standard is based on the UK Department of Transport Standard TD 32/93 and
subsequent recommendations and approvals by the Highways Agency (UK) and has been prepared to conform to Australian practice. It specifies the requirements for wire rope safety fences for use on verges and central reserves (medians) on new and existing roads, including motorways.
The specification requirements and the LB Series of Drawings for the BRIFEN Wire Rope Safety Fence (WRSF) are shown in the document entitled "Specification and Drawings for the Brifen Wire Rope Safety Fence".
The wire rope safety fence described in this Standard complies with the performance testing criteria for the level of vehicle containment defined in NHRCP350 Level 3 and the CEN, MIRA and VTI tests. The Standard also sets out the essential layout requirements and limitations on the use of wire rope safety fence.
Any request for a departure from this Standard shall be referred to Brifen Limited (UK). Th
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
The performance of the BRIFEN Wire Rope Safety Fence ( WRSF ) has been fully tested by controlled crash testing of vehicles and also by the assessment of its behaviour under uncontrolled impact conditions in the field , as a result of an accident.
Brifen WRSF performance history dates back to 1970 when controlled crash (impact) testing was commenced. Crash testing to improve the Brifen WRSF has and is still continuing. All tests indicated rope deflections to be within the required design parameters.
Performance to date of Brifen WRSF can be gauged by:
* One study of over 200 recorded impacts showed that there were no cross-overs of medians or fatal injuries as a result of vehicles colliding with the Brifen WRSF.
* On two of Sydney's motorways, the M4 and M5 there is a total of 24km of Brifen WRSF in the median. In over 80 impacts there have been no crossovers and the only known injury to a vehicle occupant was a bleeding nose.
* Brifen WRSF has been used as a b
REFERENCE ARTICLES
The performance of the remarkable Brifen Wire Rope Safety Fence was proven again recently after a major impact by a fully-laden semi trailer, travelling at an estimated 100 kph along the Hume Highway to the north of the New South Wales regional centre of Goulburn, some 200km from Sydney. Experts from the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) and Police Department have praised the performance of the fence, crediting it with the prevention of what they believe would have otherwise been an horrific accident.
Even after being impacted by a fully-laden Scania semi-trailer 'Pan Tech', this section of the Brifen Wire Rope Safety Fence on the Hume Highway, some 10km north of Goulburn, prevented the semi-trailer from crossing into the path of oncoming traffic thus avoiding a potential multiple vehicular impact disaster.
There was no serious injury to the driver and only minimal damage to the semi-trailer. Travelling at an estimated 100kph at the time of impact, a total of 297 collapsib
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