A guardrail is not necessary at the place where Sanne and Hebe crashed this week. Rijkswaterstaat answers this to the many questions about the lack of a crash barrier on the connecting arch between the A59 and the A2 at the Empel junction near Den Bosch. According to Rijkswaterstaat, the Empel junction meets all requirements.
A section of crash barrier is missing from this connecting arch over 200 meters. Here Sanne’s car drove straight through the bushes and ended up upside down in the water behind.
According to the Motorway Design Directive, an obstacle-free zone of 10 meters applies to this connecting curve, Rijkswaterstaat reports. If there is an obstacle within 10 meters of the roadway, it should be protected by a guard rail.
‘No guard rail needed’
Because there are no obstacles within 10 meters of the roadway at the accident site, no crash barrier is necessary, Rijkswaterstaat explains.
According to Rijkswaterstaat, a crash barrier has recently been installed on the right-hand side of the connecting road. The spot a little further on where the crash barrier begins was identified as a risk by investigation because it was too close to the roadway. To prevent people from riding on it, the entire right-hand side is equipped with a crash barrier.
A car also landed in 2020 at the same spot in the water:
Road Inspectors
At the request of the police, two road inspectors from Rijkswaterstaat went to look at the junction on Tuesday. They had been sent to a different area than where the bodies were found on Wednesday night. At that time, the inspectors did not see any new tire tracks.
The road stewards also examined the wasteland there. But that was not the place where Sanne and Hebe were eventually found.
Eight accidents a year
Over the past four years, an average of eight accidents per year took place on this connecting arch of the Empel junction.
The cameras hanging along the highways, such as at the Empel junction, are not continuously monitored. According to Rijkswaterstaat, it is impossible to continuously monitor all 3000 cameras.
The traffic cameras are mainly used to have a view of the road if something has happened on the highway that could potentially endanger road traffic.
If there is no report, there is very little chance that anything will be seen in the traffic control center. The traffic cameras are intended to monitor the current situation on the road and these images are not recorded.
