During the first eight months of 2016, 32 people died in a motorcycle accident in Sweden, which corresponds to the total number of the previous year, according to Swedish motorcyclists’ organization SMC.

The sad record is that so far this year 25 percent of the motorcyclists killed, died in a collision with a guard rail. Every fourth motorcyclist killed, is killed by an unsafe crash barrier. It is the highest percentage ever and Sweden is unfortunately world leader with this.

SMC has asked for more secure guard rails for motorcyclists for over twenty years. As more unsafe rails are placed along Swedish roads, more motorcyclists are being killed or seriously injured in crash barrier accidents.

One of the deadliest constructions used in Sweden is the wire rope barrier, also known as cable barrier. It consists of two or more steel wires held in place by steel posts.

If you are interested in more information on guard rails, click here to download the FEMA report ‘New standards for road restraint systems for motorcyclists, designing safer roadsides for motorcyclists’, (50 pages, published 2012).