Eli5: How come the median between highway lanes is so barren?

Question

I understand that it’s not the most hospitable environment for most plants (salt, car accidents, minimal animal traffic) but that space gets mowed to keep what grows there short. Why not have some wildflowers, native grass, or even trees there? Trees would act as an extra barrier between such fast traffic

In: 9

Answer 1

The purpose of the median is safety. They are generally intended to do one of two things. A. Prevent a vehicle that leaves the roadway from crossing the median for a head on collision. B. To protect the occupent as much as possible during the incident. Hitting a tree or other large piece of vegetation can kill the occupant and knock the tree over to do other damage. All current medians and guard rails are there to absorb energy and prevent a vehicle from crossing. Large barren areas that are graded correctly can also achieve the same thing.