name this hazard

[henzilla]

Anybody have a story to tell about on of these?

They come in all widths in pipe spacing/size and quality. We still have some installed on major County roads, even more on back county roads thru ranches.Just happens to be some of the funner riding areas of course.I was our riding last Friday and snapped a few pics of my friends in waiting. This one is typical for here and even with road surface...a lot are not and will jar the senses out of you.

My sister in law was up in Austin two years ago for a riding weekend on her Kawasaki Cruiser. Had been riding for about a year and a half.We decided to head out to the Willow City Loop and Enchanted Rock areas. Weather was typical spring here with showers in area and lasting only a few minutes. It had rained ahead of us and the roads were dry except near the shoulders and painted lines. On the Willow City Loop, there are multiple twisty turns with you guessed it, a cattle guard at the apex of the turn in a few spots. Karen had cleared at least 5 before the oddball one bit her. Top of a rise, 45 degree right turn and the spacing and diameter were not standard. Only traveling around 10-15 MPH when the bike decided to slide away...I watched in the mirror in what seemed like super slow motion as she went down. Wearing full gear, she hit her head hard enough to knock her out...Due to the terrain, no cellphones were working and after she came to and vitals looked fine, I drove (raced)back to local store to call 911, leaving Helen and my brother to monitor her and listen to her ask about the bike. The helicopter was there in a very short time, and they transported her to Austin. She had shoulder surgery a few months before this and of course landed on THE shoulder. We had several riders of other makes stop and help secure the scene( several LEO's in one group) Her bike lost some paint & lights, but her being OK erased any concerns about that.
I look at these hazards differently now and straighten up a bit more than I used too. Always treated them like RR tracks, but after looking at some of the 1940's era ones, I really look closer now, especially when it's wet.

As a side story, my bike was in the landing zone as I was down near Karens bike with the DPS trooper filling out forms. The rotor wash blew my RT over! Landed on it's side after scraping the barbed wire fence against the windscreen...the pilot came over later and said he was a BMW rider and sure hated to be the cause of that! I said no problem...will tell everyone the helicopter did it! Ran in to him at the BMW shop a month later in his flight suit...asked him if he had been to Willow City recently...he hung his head and said " that was you?" we laughed since the real story was a rider walked away from that day.

[Rapid_Roy]

We have 'em on some of the roads I have driven on in Wisconsin, but I have never had a bad thing happen. On an apex and wet, I would have gone down also.

[wezul]

That's yer cattle grate, yup yup.
1000 posts, whoop!

[Jamming]

Cattle Guard..got em out here in Arizona where I live. I cross one everyday getting on the freeway. Rear tire looses traction if I get on the throttle.

[tourunigo]

Thanks for this note of caution. It is quite likely that we will come across some of these in our travels this summer. Knowledge is powerful but not foolproof. -Bob

[Newstar]

Cattle guard! I was in Austin and then Hill Country for a few weeks on vacation once.

Otherwise, I'd have had no clue!

[hlothery]

My question is......why do they always put them in the middle of a curve?:scratch
DAMHIK.

[Statdawg]

My question is......why do they always put them in the middle of a curve?:scratch
DAMHIK.For your job security. :laugh

[swall]

They put them where the fence happens to cross the road.

[henzilla]

1000 posts, whoop!

I'm closing in on you Glen Ellyn! might take a month at my rate though:laugh :laugh :laugh

[henzilla]

[QUOTE=hlothery;299582]My question is......why do they always put them in the middle of a curve?:scratch QUOTE]

There is one on RM 1431 leaving Lago Vista headed out to Marble Falls...60MPH and it appears in middle of a curve...no way to line up and go straight...just tighten the cheeks a touch and ease up.Used to be cattle country,now a very busy two lane road.

I crossed one this afternoon near Dripping Springs...Helen said it raised up as I went across it about a foot! YIKES! That one is marked in my mind now! Most are on private ranch land but have county roads thru them . Maybe the local counties maintain them now,not sure, there are a lot of them out here.

[roy]

Be glad these are modern Cattle Guards. The old ones had the pipes running parallel with road.... Front tire drops in and **it happens quick...

Some of the original units meant for narrow front tractors had a strip in the middle and a strip on each edge foot or more in between them. These also caused OH **it moments.

[raydar]

For all of you that are headed to WY for the International Rally. WY has tons of cattlegaurds (mostly on the secondaries) You may even get to see some that are just painted on the pavement too! That much paint can cause a disaster also. You learn young in Wyoming, take em straight on and straight up ...or else!

[OUTBACKUFO]

i really dont like this type of cattle gaurds.... the round pipe types are even dangerous for cars if wet.... normally here in Colo... they are the square stock (or recycled R&R rails) that at least give you a bit of a flat surface.... worst one i ever dealt with was in Ozzyland.. on the Rabbit/Dingo Fence thing had a 3 m drop through the rails and the rails were a good 8-10 inches apart to stop the dingos from getting across... just close enough to get a normall car tire across it... .. I turned around and hit it going 50mph just to make sure i was over it before anything could happen...

[jdmetzger]

I've never seen one anywhere I've ridden, and I'm glad. It reminds me of a story in either "Proficient Motorcycling" or "More Proficient Motorcycling" about a rider having their tire fall into a groove where a construction crew misplaced a steel sheet to cover a large hole in the road. It's so hard to watch out for road hazards like that, sometimes. I almost got bit last year riding in an area I've covered thousands of times. I came around a curve to find they were spreading tar and then lots of fine gravel over the top; covering the whole lane. I hit the brakes and managed to lock the rear for a moment; a near high-side. I saved it... not sure if that was luck or skill... maybe both. Driving through town I'm noticing MASSIVE amounts of road damage from the freeze/thaw; lots of potholes that could throw an inattentive rider for a loop. Be careful out there!

[Greenwald]

Ya'all been calling these contraptions 'cattle guards.'

Guarding the cattle from what??? What exactly is their purpose?

Not trying to sound dumb - just not sure what they are supposed to be accomplishing? How do they work?



I have many things yet to learn in this life, and never pretend to know everything. I have always treasured the response Albert Einstein gave to a pesky news reporter, pressing him for what it must be like to be the world's smartest man.

Einstein replied "Try to remember, young man, we are all ignorant - just about different things."

[glennhendricks]

Only time I dropped my /5 was when I crossed RR tracks after a rain shower. RR tracks were on a diagonal to the roadway.

Bad juju.

The moocows won't walk on the steel so the guards act like a fence extension. You get the benefits of a gate without having to get out of the pickumup truck.

[henzilla]

[QUOTE=raydar;299669] You may even get to see some that are just painted on the pavement too! That much paint can cause a disaster also. QUOTE]

I saw my first painted guard on River Road closer to Presidio,TX...and even with a dry road, the desert sand sitting on it can make it quite slick...I was waiting for the rumble of the guards pipes as I passed over it and it just kinda whooshed!:laugh What was that?and WHY? Maybe the cows are that easy to fool? We used to look for rattlers in them...why, I don't know, we were boys!

There are a few old square concrete ones with some really worn edges , most are 3 or 4 inch steel pipe. And in a lot of cases , the fences are long gone, these remain until they fail I assume. The one my sis in law got was made of 5" pipe spaced 10" apart...it is the oddball on that particular road. Thank goodness I have not seen the parallel with the road ones...yet.

Perpendicular straight path is a must if these are wet!

as mentioned they span the road so no gate is needed between pastures. the cows will not get on the round pipe, when they do...they are in a bad way. Only seen that once many years ago and I think he got spooked into the thing.

[Statdawg]

Ya'all been calling these contraptions 'cattle guards.'

Guarding the cattle from what??? What exactly is their purpose?

Not trying to sound dumb - just not sure what they are supposed to be accomplishing? How do they work?



I have many things yet to learn in this life, and never pretend to know everything. I have always treasured the response Albert Einstein gave to a pesky news reporter, pressing him for what it must be like to be the world's smartest man.

Einstein replied "Try to remember, young man, we are all ignorant - just about different things." A cattle guard creates an opening in a fence line allowing vehicles to pass freely but not allowing cattle or other livestock to do so. Cattle would be unable to cross because their hoofed feet would not have enough support on the grated structure. They are more common in the western United States and Canada due to the vast grasslands used as pastures. In the east the grazing land is smaller and any opening in the fence a farmer would need to allow livestock to cross.

Cattle guards protect animals the same as a fence denying them access to forbidden property and danger zones.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid

[gabentx]

[QUOTE=hlothery;299582]My question is......why do they always put them in the middle of a curve?:scratch QUOTE]

There is one on RM 1431 leaving Lago Vista headed out to Marble Falls...60MPH and it appears in middle of a curve...no way to line up and go straight...just tighten the cheeks a touch and ease up.Used to be cattle country,now a very busy two lane road.

I crossed one this afternoon near Dripping Springs...Helen said it raised up as I went across it about a foot! YIKES! That one is marked in my mind now! Most are on private ranch land but have county roads thru them . Maybe the local counties maintain them now,not sure, there are a lot of them out here.

Oh yeah...I know exactly the one you're talking about on 1431...went over that one just this last weekend.....on certain days I just cringe as I go over....ugh!

[Burnszilla]

Also known as a "Texas Gate." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid

[rinty]

Just cross them straight up, and I stay off the perpendicular stiffeners; they make the bike shift. In a car I like to run along the perpendiculars; they're a bit smoother.

Putting them in the apex of a corner is bad design, however. I'd write to the county transport commissioner and warn them about the potential liability.

Rinty

[tourunigo]

Lots of training for "irregular road patterns" here in the land of the Salty Fog. Many of the back roads have frost heaves and, in some places, rutted out pavement with grass growing in them. BTW, I've seen these ruts follow in the line of travel for many yards...on curves...and being more than two inches deep and wide. One region in particular seems like an obstacle course. All places seem to have something that'll grabya. This discussion has helped me focus on a potential hazard in the West that I can watch for (as best as I am able). -Bob

[hlothery]

Just cross them straight up, and I stay off the perpendicular stiffeners; they make the bike shift. In a car I like to run along the perpendiculars; they're a bit smoother.

Putting them in the apex of a corner is bad design, however. I'd write to the county transport commissioner and warn them about the potential liability.

Rinty

Things are a bit different in Texas. The highway folks have already had to negotiate with the land owner to traverse his land, doubt much can be changed at this point. In the case of Willow City Loop, it is private property, and a private road which they allow us to traverse. The cool thing about it is, once you get inside the perimeter fence, there are no more fences. That introduces a potential plethora of hazards, from the Bovine variety, to their waste products, all of which might be in the road at any given time. Texas is such a neat place! (But watch out for that Bull!)

[henzilla]

like this:laugh

[BradfordBenn]

We are going to see a bunch of them when we go to the Rally. I remember seeing an article about them while talking about the Rally.

[amiles]

I sure hope that this won't be a replay of the Railroad Crossing that was the demise of some riders at the Charleston, W.Va Rally