Successes elsewhere with cable barriers

The Federal Highway Administration reports that nearly every state in the nation is using cable median barriers or has plans to experiment. The agency provided the following information and stories about success elsewhere.

IOWA: Between 1990 and 1999, only 2.4 percent of all interstate crashes were crossover accidents, yet these crashes resulted in 32.7 percent of all interstate fatalities.

SOUTH CAROLINA: From 1999 to 2000, more than 70 people lost their lives in 57 separate interstate crossover crashes. From August 2000 to July 2003, motorists hit the state's barrier system 3,000 times, but only 15 vehicles breached the cables.

NORTH CAROLINA: The state's transportation agency found crossover crashes to be three times more deadly than other freeway crashes. Crossover barriers are expected to lead to an estimated 90 percent reduction in these types of collisions.

WASHINGTON: Annual crossover crash deaths declined from 3.00 to 0.33 fatalities per 100 million miles of vehicle travel. The annual number of disabling accidents fell from 3.60 to 1.76. The overall benefit was calculated to be $420,000 per mile annually.