The public and national safety officials have anxiously awaited results of testing that may determine whether guardrails manufactured by Trinity Industries, Inc. should be removed from highways across Canada and the United States, and the results of those tests are now ready for review.
Surprisingly to many, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) found that Trinity’s ET-Plus system guardrails passed crash tests and did not cause undue harm to the test vehicles in the crash simulations.
According to a Bloomberg News report, the FHWA claims the guardrails retained their shape and did not crumple in a manner consistent with penetration of the vehicles. Furthermore, injury is unlikely to have come to the occupants of the vehicle as a result of the guardrails crumpling.
The results of these tests are critical in helping safety regulators decide whether sales of Trinity’s ET-Plus system should be suspended indefinitely, and whether those guardrails that are already in place across parts of Ontario and the U.S. should be removed for safety’s sake.
U.S. regulators claim that these findings are not the end of the line for Trinity, but that additional and possibly more stringent tests will be conducted in the future. Many U.S. states will be conducting tests of their own.
Trinity claims it will not decide whether to continue sales of the ET-Plus system until it has a chance to fully review the FHWA’s report.
Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., told Bloomberg News, “Everything they’re doing is very interesting, but it still fails to answer the question, Why are we seeing these failures in the field?”
Plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against Trinity over allegations that unapproved changes to the ET-Plus systems design contributed to injuries or accidents where vehicle occupants were impaled by the rails. Currently, 16 injuries and at least eight deaths have been tied to the Trinity guardrails and lawsuits, and lawsuits are still being filed.
If you were in a crash in an area where Trinity’s ET-Plus guardrail system was used, you may have a claim for compensation. Contact the injury lawyers at Greg Monforton & Partners today to learn about your legal options.
Call (866) 320-4770 or fill out our FREE case evaluation form.