Highway Safety

Highway Safety’s Latest Must-Have Innovation

J-Tech’s LaneBlade® is clearing the way for safer travel

Chester Springs, PA - October 1, 2021– According to AAA studies between 2011-2014, road debris was a factor in a total of more than 200,000 police-reported crashes, resulting in approximately 39,000 injuries and 500 deaths. Road debris can be extremely dangerous to motorists and road workers, especially on highways where cars travel at higher speeds and have less time to react to objects in the road.

J-Tech announced today, the availability of a new tool, the LaneBlade®, that clears debris quickly and safely from roadways increasing the safety of both highway workers and road users. The LaneBlade® is mounted to service patrol vehicles that sight and respond to reports of dangerous highway debris. Unpredictable debris endangers roadway users, causes flat tires, leads to erratic avoidance maneuvering, and disrupts traffic flow with stopped and queueing of traffic.  Safety patrols now can remove the debris quickly from the safety of their patrol vehicles to alleviate those risks.

LANEBLADE® ADVANCES SAFETY

The LaneBlade® will transform how roadway operators address highway debris. Workers will no longer need to run or walk into live lanes to pick up and remove debris. No more “look and leap” between gaps in traffic, which is very dangerous as vehicles traveling 65mph span a football field’s length in three seconds. The LaneBlade® makes easy work of debris, especially debris that would be hard to get to on foot without closing lanes.

NO BRAINER

“I had been searching for an improved product to help our employees perform more safely and effectively for years,” Joe LaBella recollects.

LaBella is general manager of AutoBase Corporation in Amityville, NY, a national leader in roadway safety services, whose core competency involves removing debris from roadways from nine different states. AutobBase’s 450 workers and fleet of 250 trucks are exclusively dedicated to traffic incident management and provide support to departments of transportation in multiple states.

LaBella would occasionally search the internet for new products where he was recently introduced to J-Tech’s latest innovation, LaneBlade.

“I made the trip to J-Tech headquarters in Chester Springs (Pennsylvania) where Fred Bergstresser (Marketing and Business Development Manager) presented an extremely professional demonstration of the product I found online,” recalls LaBella. “The LaneBlade seemed to be the perfect solution to our identified problem!”

Now, after training and developing operator protocols, AutoBase will be testing the LaneBlade in the Ohio market starting October 1st. After the trial, LaBella and AutoBase plan to test in other states and eventually feature the LaneBlade as a solution for their clients.

“I could see LaneBlade as a component in proposals going forward,” LaBella concluded.

“This will revolutionize the way state transportation departments and tollways address the problem of dangerous debris on the highways,” said Fred Bergstresser, J-Tech’s New Product Development Manager. “We have all seen debris appear instantly right in our path.  The job of plucking that debris out of fast traffic lanes has always been a challenge. The LaneBlade® can help mitigate that danger and do it quickly. J-Tech worked closely with a local tollway to develop this product because of the concern for worker and traveler safety and the associated danger of unexpected debris on the highways.”

EASE OF OPERATION

The LaneBlade® is a hydraulically operated apparatus permanently mounted on the front of service vehicles such as the State Farm Safety Patrol that assists travelers who have broken down on high-speed expressways. Debris removal can now be a single operator’s job who will be able to respond and remove debris quickly and safely while on patrol.  This helps limit traffic congestion and keeps traffic moving without the need to close down tunnels, roadways, or lanes.

Easy to operate, the LaneBlade® features a handheld, dash-mounted control to raise or lower the unit and safely remove hazardous debris from the safety of the cab. The LaneBlade® features heavy duty powder coated steel construction and is equipped with a speed limiter to ensure safe operation.  The in-cab monitor, and the 1080p infrared cameras featured on each wing can be paired with an optional DVR recording and telematics device with remote viewing make the LaneBlade a safe, effective, and essential tool for virtually any roadway maintenance organization.

ABOUT J-TECH

Respected throughout the highway equipment and highway safety communities, J-Tech is well known for  innovative roadway safety products made in Pennsylvania.

J-Tech has been helping highway contractors make their work zones safer workplaces since the introduction of the J-Tech TMA (Truck Mounted Attenuator) truck, aka “crash truck” in August 2007.  J-Tech’s TMA Trucks, Pattern Trucks, Dynamic Lift System Trucks, and Safety Baskets are some of our many products that give operators a safety and efficiency advantage. For more information, see Jtechusa.com.