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Negotiating Embankments at 50 MPH; Was a Guardrail Necessary? The Case of "Willie" Shoemaker |
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Wearing
a crash helmet, Tom Boster drove an exemplar Ford Bronco II down
a 45% grade, following the same path as
"Willie" Shoemaker. Tom completed this driving test seven times with no difficulty. |
Determination of the cause of a vehicular accident is often an essential ingredient in civil litigation in connection with personal injury. Such was the case of "Willie" Shoemaker, the internationally known jockey and horse trainer, involving the absence of a guardrail. He lost control of his Ford Bronco II after going over an embankment and rolled his vehicle three times with significant roof crush and serious injury. The road vehicle accident is probably the most complex safety-related event that safety professionals are regularly called upon to analyze. Rather than an accident resulting from a single cause, there are usually several influences at work. These influences can be separated into three groups: the human element, the vehicle element, and the highway element. One highway element widely used in motorized countries is the guardrail. |
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It is generally accepted that guardrails should be installed only where the consequences of striking the guardrail are judged to be less serious than the consequences of running off the road or striking the guarded object. Implementing this guideline in practice is, however, difficult. There
is no substitute for real-world experience when comparing the
consequences of a guardrail placed along the top of an
embankment to the "unprotected" embankment. Therefore, an exemplar vehicle was driven over an
embankment at various speeds. These test runs were videotaped. The exemplar vehicle was successfully brought under
control after going over the embankment at speeds ranging from
20-50 miles per hour. The
same exemplar vehicle was then impacted into a guardrail of
standard design at the accident speed and angle. The
vehicle went over the guardrail and rolled multiple times. Conclusion: Guardrails are intrinsic roadside hazards and provide the errant vehicle with only a relative degree of protection. The best constructed highways are dangerous when used by speeders, drunk drivers and defective vehicles, but safe when used with due care. |
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