I was watching 5th Gear yesterday on the Discovery Channel when they had a bit on light poles similar to the ones used on Kuwait streets. They took a regular car and installed hardware on it so they could control it remotely and then driving at 45mph they made it ram into one of these steel light posts. The result was catastrophic. The light pole barely moved or bent while the car was destroyed and thrown violently around. If there was anyone in the car they would have been seriously wounded if not killed.
They then started to tell us about these new types of light poles that are being using in countries like Sweden and Finland, collapsible poles. These poles are made from aluminum and are designed to absorb the impact of a car and slow it down. They look very similar to the regular poles except of course they are very different.
To demonstrate how safe driving into the poles were the inventor of the “safe” poles got into a car wearing only a seatbelt and a helmet (to protect him from flying glass if any) and drove into a pole going at 45mph. It was incredible, once the car hit the pole it bent and the car drove over it slowing down. The car did get damaged but very lightly, the driver got out safely and the car was even drivable after the crash.
Now I have seen loads of accidents here in Kuwait specially on the Gulf Road where people have rammed into the light poles and gotten killed. With all the money in Kuwait how come the government hasn’t installed these new collapsible poles.. at least in places where it is very common for people to ram into them?
Update: Here is a link to an article abou the Lamppost which turns out has been in use in Sweden for the past 12 years! [Link]
Update 2: If you want to download the bit on the lamppost you can from the 5th Gear official website for a price of KD1 [Link]
Update 3: The video is on YouTube you can check it below
8 replies on “Making Kuwait Safer”
Yeah I saw that since I am stayin on discovery 24/7. It’s pretty much urprising and reassuring how that guy drove himself into the light pole he created, it would save so many lives if they use it here too, but that’s not gonna happen.
Cool idea. What about the poles after the accident? Do they have to be replaced or can they just be placed back upright? How does that work? If it has to be replaced I don’t see it working to well in Kuwait… takes weeks to get the cars of the roads. Within two months we’d have no light poles left!! hee hee
they will have to be replaced after they are they are hit so you are right we might end up with no lights at all lol
i tried finding these poles on google but didnt have any luck.
Well, Kuwait is not using them because they have not been proven 100% safe.You cant simply install or put something new with out tests and it also depends on alot of factors, Kuwait has a very hot weather which might affect the material of the poles.
Those poles are soooo old! It’s not just poles, they have water/sand barrels between highways and exits to make collision smoother.
DesertRose if these poles have been in use by the Swedish for 12 years now I think you can say they have been tested.. throughly.
3baid Kuwait recently started installing the barrels, I have seen a couple already but I dont know if they are filled up with water or sand.
I think whoever would run a lightpost down should then be liable to pay for a replacement.
That would be the least they could do for not getting killed, and Kuwait would still have lights…
Or everyone would have like a limit of one lightpole. Anymore, and you’d have to pay for replacements. That way serial car-crashers would have an incentive to slow down…
…in a dream world :o)