When it comes to guardrail prices in South Africa, one must consider quality, compliance with road and safety standards, and the reputation of the supplier. A closer look at the jobs of guardrail systems provides insight as to why prices should not be the first concern when shopping for suitable road-safety products in South Africa.
The Main Functions of Guardrail Systems
W-beam guardrails act as complete systems to prevent vehicles from straying into hazardous areas or objects next to the road. The rails also serve as barriers to protect pedestrians and cyclists using designated areas against straying vehicles. Such barriers, furthermore, serve to prevent vehicles on highways from crossing over into the fast lane of the opposing carriageway. In such a case, the barrier is called a median guardrail. These types of barriers are often found on bridges over highways, railways, and bodies of water. Such rails can, furthermore, be found in urban areas in front of large road signs and buildings, at T-junctions, or at intersections where there is a risk of vehicles driving too fast to safely negotiate a bend in the road.
Benefits of Guardrail Installations
The barriers give drivers more confidence to stay as far left as possible on the road, especially at night, since they can see where the road surface ends and have the assurance of protection to their left. As such, the risk of head-on collisions due to median clustering is significantly reduced. The guardrails on mountain passes are essential to prevent vehicles from accidentally leaving the safe travel path and going down cliffs. These barriers are essential on such passes where vehicles may be buffeted about by strong winds, startling drivers who can potentially destabilise their vehicles and lose control, going over the edge. With such important functions, one can understand why prices are not the main consideration – quality and safety are. Prices of such barriers in South Africa are dependent on factors such as the length of the panels, whether wooden or steel posts are used, the types of reflectors on the rails, and the height of the barriers. It is important to understand that the entire system of posts and steel panels work together in preventing vehicles from leaving the safe road path.
Though the barriers, as available at competitive prices from our company in South Africa, act mainly to prevent vehicles breaking through and thus colliding with unforgiving objects or straying into hazardous areas, the guardrails also serve another purpose – to reduce the severity of the impact on the vehicle and its occupants. This is possible because the impact energy is absorbed and dispersed along the entire panel, thereby reducing the impact on the vehicle. Upon a side-angle impact, the friction between the impacting vehicle and the barrier helps to slow down the vehicle, while the barrier also serves to guide the vehicle back onto the safe travel path.
Important Installation Factors
Though the guardrails reduce the severity of impacts, prevent vehicles from breaking through, and improve road safety, it is not always possible to prevent injuries. As such, careful consideration is given to the clearance required behind the barrier. If there is enough clearance next to the road to allow for self-correction and a safe return to the travel path without hitting a hazardous object, it is better not to install any type of barrier. The barrier is an object in itself, so the engineers assess whether the impact with a hazard is more likely to cause severe injury than the impact with the barrier. With installation, factors such as available space, the length of the barrier needed, the types and heights of vehicles, the average travel speed on the road, and type of obstacle against which to protect are considered. The barrier must be durable, able to withstand South Africa’s harsh weather conditions, and be low on maintenance. Our products meet all these requirements. Manufactured in South Africa according to the highest standards, these barriers are cost-effective safety devices for reducing road accident fatalities in the country. With the barriers manufactured locally, their prices are competitive too.
We have a track record of product manufacturing and service excellence. Our products are made for South African road conditions and their prices are very competitive. Get in touch for accurate guardrail prices.