One barrier that we welcome

Three years ago, Nicole Snyder was killed on Highway 395 near Genoa Lane when a driver in the opposite lanes lost control of her car and was launched into the air by the median.

The ditch that serves as a median for most of the length of the highway between Minden and Indian Hills came along with the highway expansion when it was built in the mid-'80s.

In the intervening years, at least two fatalities have resulted after a vehicle entered the median at a high rate of speed and was launched at oncoming cars.

Not long after Nicole's accident, we joined the call for a barrier between the lanes of Highway 395 to prevent this sort of accident.

Next month, the Nevada Department of Transportation will begin work to install a means that will prevent cars from crossing into the oncoming lanes on the highway.

The cable barrier will cost $1.6 million and should prevent cars that enter the median from crossing to the other side and killing innocent motorists.

The barrier is a safety measure that will prevent some accidents, but motorists along Highway 395 must remember that due care will do far more good than any traffic device.