Driver cheats death after crash barrier impales car

A MOTORIST had an amazing escape in a collision when a crash barrier sliced through his car — missing him by inches.

An investigation is under way into the accident which saw a section of the metal safety barrier snap off, shear through the driver’s door, pass through the rear passenger seats and end up sticking out of the boot.

The incident happened after two cars collided on the narrow R747 road outside Arklow, Co Wicklow, resulting in one of the vehicles, an Opel Vectra, hitting the roadside barrier.

Driver, Conor Fanning from Aughrim, Co Wicklow, was able to climb out of his impaled vehicle unaided but was deeply shaken. A woman driving the other car — a smaller Daewoo — was brought to Loughlinstown Hospital by ambulance but gardaí described her injuries as minor.

Frank O’Toole, spokesman for Wicklow County Council, said he was awaiting an engineer’s report on the accident which he described as “freakish”.

“Rest assured it will be investigated. The whole purpose of crash barriers is to prevent something like this happening,” he said.

Crash barriers are made of sturdy but pliable metal designed to catch out-of-control vehicles and prevent them striking a more solid object or other passing traffic.

It is not known whether the snapping of the barrier on the R747, which runs between Arklow and Avoca, was a fluke or was due to an inherent flaw in the design. Engineers will also check to see if the barrier had become loose or weakened over time.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) is not directly responsible for regional roads but a spokeswoman said incidents such as this were always brought to their safety experts’ attention.

“We keep a record of all accidents, regardless of what status of road they happen on, and something like this would be of concern,” she said.

The NRA, which is responsible for barriers on all major routes, has come under criticism from motorcyclists for using wire rope-style barriers in place of the more traditional metal panel barriers on newer roads.

Motorbike enthusiasts claim the wire versions can act like “cheese-cutters” in accidents. The authority is awaiting the outcome of a EU safety review of the barriers.