They use a concrete version over here to stop people straying sideways off pedestrian road crossings - can catch you nicely if you stray onto it in the dark...
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=stafford&ll=52.802474,-2.113224&spn=0.001425,0.002411&hnear=Stafford,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=52.802474,-2.113224&panoid=dmJ6T7-8fVA_zkaGc9K10w&cbp=12,325.59,,1,15.62