The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has announced that they will not be suspending the installation of the Trinity ET-Plus guardrail terminals that are currently under investigation. Instead, the NCDOT will wait for federal regulators to make the decision, according to WNCN.com.
Steve Abbott with the NCDOT commented, “We have not seen any evidence that’s been shown to us yet as to what danger they have. We’re aware of a couple of incidents.”
Trinity Industries, a major manufacturer of highway guardrails, failed to disclose critical design changes to state regulators in 2005. As a result, the ET-Plus guardrail system never went through proper crash testing and were never approved. Experts believe that those design changes may be responsible for many serious and fatal injuries that have occurred over the years in guardrail related accidents across the country. Last month the company was found guilty of defrauding the government and was ordered to pay $175 million dollars to the whistle-blower that discovered the cover up.
Since this discovery, thirty states have suspended the installation of the Trinity ET-Plus guardrail system until proper crash testing is done to prove that they are safe. A few states have begun surveying to figure out where exactly these potentially dangerous guardrail terminals are installed. Many states have said that they do not have a record of the exact location of the guardrail terminals because they were an approved product.
Yesterday, the Federal Highway Administration announced that they have approved Trinity’s crash testing plan. The guardrail terminals will be tested from Mid-November through January 2015, according to a WSJ.com article. Until the guardrails are proven safe, Trinity will not be shipping out anymore of the ET-Plus guardrail systems.
Seriously Injured in an Accident Involving a Guardrail?
Our Guardrail Injury Lawyers are currently investigating serious and fatal guardrail accidents related to this untested guardrail design. If you or a loved one were injured in an accident with a guardrail, contact our attorneys to discuss your legal options. We offer a free, no obligation, case evaluation – Get Help Now 877-544-5323