This accident occurred north of Deer Lodge MT, on I-90. The driver fell asleep at the wheel and drifted off the shoulder hitting the end of a section of guard rail. Said guard rail came through the right headlight, engine compartment, firewall, glove box, passenger seat, rear seat and exited out the driver’s side rear window. That is 120 LF of guard rail that threaded through the suburban. No passengers and the driver was not injured. He must have been FLYING! I do believe he soil himself also.
At least in Montana, the National Motorists Association says that it was safer to drive with no numerical speed limit, but only what was defined as "reasonable and prudent," as opposed to the currrent 75MPH on 4-lane separated highways. "The study shows the safest period on Montana’s Interstate highways was when there were no daytime speed limits or enforceable speed laws. "The doubling of fatal accidents occurred after Montana implemented its new safety program; complete with federal funding, artificially low speed limits and full enforcement." Montana: No Speed Limit Safety Paradox It is safe to say that it is never reasonable or prudent to fall sleep at the wheel, whatever the speed.
Here's what I'm thinking: 0 - 40 LF : woke him up 41 - 80 LF : Wth?! Why is there a metal band threading through my truck?! 81 - 120 LF : Using what little wits he still has to slam on the brakes.
The rail fulfilled its purpose perfectly: it kept the out of control vehicle firmly on a "rail", preventing it both from toppling off the shoulder AND from caroming back into traffic. That it did its job without injuring anyone is further testament to its effective design, although traffic barrier engineers will no doubt be staying up nights working to improve the design so it won't disturb anyone's sleep next time.
ound: This is Montana and those guard rails may have been of an older design. If the ends had been buried in the ground and angled off the to the side the piercing of the passenger compartment may not have occurred.
