Madam, - On December 23rd you published a letter from the Motorcycle Action Group (Ireland) which severely criticised the wire rope safety barrier used on the Kildare bypass.
I represent the Hill and Smith group of companies which manufactured and installed this Brifen wire rope system. We wish to point out that this criticism is both erroneous and ill-founded and that Brifen Ltd has a letter from the UK Motorcycle Action Group endorsing its use.
A recent seminar that we arranged was attended by road engineers from all over Ireland and a representative from the UK Transport and Road Research Laboratory spoke about the system. He pointed out strongly that it is not the barrier that kills motorcyclists, but the posts supporting the barrier system, be they steel beams or wire ropes.
The product has been in use for more than 30 years in the UK and in that time the number of motorcyclists killed through coming into contact with the barrier is still in low single figures.
The system is in total compliance with EN1317, which is the EU standard for road barrier systems, and was also recently used on a scheme that won the top road safety award in the US where the percentage of bikers is far higher than in Ireland. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL D. HAYES,
Rathcoole,
Co Dublin.