Company Announcement - The International Transport Forum’s Road Safety Annual Report, released in May 2013, ranked South Africa the worst out of 36 countries in terms of the number of road fatalities. Road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants was at 27.6 deaths in 2011. This is a shocking statistic when compared to developed countries like North America (10.4) or Australia (5.6). Even those developing countries included in the report did not exceed South Africa’s road death toll. Reducing the number and severity of road accidents, specifically on major roads and highways, is a multi-pronged approach that includes tests for alcohol use at road blocks, driver education, checking for roadworthiness of vehicles and road design. While the first three points are driven by available manpower, road design is easier to address and amend.

Road design includes the physical design of the road layout (including sharp turns and bends), off ramps and on-ramps to the roads, bridges, road surfaces, adequate lighting, road signs and markings, as well as the inclusion of safety-related measures such as guardrails. In an effort to introduce the latest standards and technology to South Africa, Andrew Mentis is manufacturing the Easy-Rail modular guardrail system in South Africa under license from Volkmann & Rossbach of Germany. Easy-Rail is a crash-tested guardrail system representing the latest European safety and quality standards that has received attention from the South African National Roads Agency and the South African Road Federation.

“The Easy-Rail guardrail system is tested to EN 1317. It is a modular system that allows for the most cost efficient solution for various applications,” Elaine van Rooyen, Marketing Manager, Andrew Mentis, says. It provides maximum safety at minimal weight as well as being simple and fast to install. All Easy-Rail modules connect to each other without any transitional construction required, so that the containment level and working width can be adjusted accordingly for a specific application. The guardrail beam is attached to the posts by a single screw in order to minimise the installation effort. In addition to Easy-Rail, Andrew Mentis also manufactures and distributes its own Mentrail guardrail. “Guardrails prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway and striking a hazard by containing and redirecting the vehicle. The specific design of Andrew Mentis’ Mentrail guardrail, with a W-shaped profile, allows it to be used in a variety of roadside situations,” van Rooyen explains.

An independent survey in the US indicates that not only can guardrails reduce the vehicle accident rate by about 30%, but that when accidents do occur the number of fatalities and injuries are reduced by between 45% to 50% respectively. Mentrail guardrails are manufactured using specialised machinery at Andrew Mentis’ facility in Elandsfontein in 2.6 mm thick steel to standard 3.81 m lengths, according to SANS 1350-1982 specifications. The Mentrail guardrail has a tensile strength of 445 MPa and a yield strength of 310 MPa for effective impact absorption. The guardrails are easy to install without further tension or stretching, and do not require any special tools.

Available in either galvanised or uncoated lengths, the guardrails have a buried end for the start and terminate in an end wing. In terms of double rows of guardrails, a bullnose end wing is used for termination. The performance of the guardrail is enhanced by joints that absorb normal expansion and contraction forces so that the posts remain aligned correctly. Concave and convex rails are also available to cater for bends and turns. Not only are Mentrail guardrails ideal for use on existing roads, but they are also extensively used where roadworks are taking place, providing a resilient temporary safety barrier throughout the construction phase. During road construction, guardrails can be moved from completed sections to protect new sections in progress. The success of Mentrail in this application has often resulted in the permanent erection of these guardrails.