Crash Victims Info

Who invented the safer barrier?

After a horrible crash that killed driver Gordon Smiley I thought it would be important for the people that build these tracks to make a wall with some give. For years I told different people about my ideas for a wall that would partially give in to take some of the energy from the car and transfer it into the wall and perhaps save the driver's life. Well after travelling all over in my job either someone that I told listened or just had the same idea. Anyway, I just wanted to know how it came to be and who ended up with the invention. People use to chuckle when I told them it would be possible to make a wall move a little to absorb an automobile's energy. I feel vindicated! Rick Edwards

Public Comments

1. No idea, but if it was your idea, thank you. You have contributed to life and should be rewarded!!
2. The University of Nebraska's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, a research organization focusing on all aspects of highway design and safety, developed a new Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier, which was installed in all four turns at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Under development since 1998, SAFER is designed to absorb energy during a crash, thus giving the driver a better chance of survival at crashes up to 150 miles per hour
3. why can we not be safer drivers instead of desiging everything else to protect us from our own stupidity