Report calls for third party safety testing for all guardrails

BOSTON — The Government Accountability Office is calling for independent third party safety testing of all guardrails after a watchdog report on the oversight of guardrails along highways.

Trinity Industries of Texas, the maker of the guardrail ET plus, was the focus of the federal investigation. ET Plus has been named in lawsuits connected to deaths and dismemberment.

There have been incidents in Massachusetts where guardrails impaled cars. In February, a guardrail pierced a Honda Accord like a spear, pinning the driver on I-93 in Canton. In May, a guardrail sliced through a minivan traveling along I-95 in Attleboro.

MassDOT wouldn't comment about the guardrail involved in the Attleboro crash.

But FOX25 Investigates previously confirmed the guardrail that went through the car on 93 in Canton had the same type of end-cap design as the ET-Plus.

The Government Accountability Office criticized the Federal Highway Administration's oversight of guardrail safety tests.

"Government Accountability Office found that six of the nine accredited U.S. Crash test laboratories evaluate products that were developed by employees of the parent organization a potential threat to lab independence," says the report.

The Government Accountability Office recommended that a third-party verified the results form crash-test labs.
"A third party is recognizing the same concerns I have. You're effectively letting the fox guard the chicken house," said Joshua Harman, the whistleblower.

Harman, has been raising concerns about the design of certain guardrails for months. FOX25 spoke with him via FaceTime from New York City.

Harman won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Trinity Industries last October after raising issue with companies updated guardrail design.

"I  would hope the states would do the most responsible thing and recall these products and get them off the highway, effectively stop the bleeding," said Harman.

In response to the Government Accountability Office report, Trinity Industries said the focus of the report was on federal government's processes and procedures and they cooperated with the investigation.

"When the FHWA requested that Trinity re-test the ET Plus, Trinity used an FHWA approved, independent testing facility. The FHWA then hired their own independent third party professor and asked NHTSA as well to review," Trinity in a statement.

The Federal Highway Administration told FOX25 they will work to implement the recommendations in the report.

Entire Statement from the Federal Highway Administration:

"FHWA welcomes the GAO’s review of the roadside safety hardware process, and as noted in our GAO response, we will work to implement the recommendations in the report. As GAO noted, FHWA is currently undergoing an independent review of the roadside hardware eligibility process and we look forward to those additional recommendations as well.  Over the past 18 months, FHWA has made a series of improvements to the roadside hardware eligibility process to improve safety.  We have worked with our state partners to accelerate the transition to the next generation of safety devices and will continue that collaboration to monitor progress.  We have required additional financial disclosure from labs and the companies submitting hardware to be tested.  Further, we will work to implement the  GAO’s recommendations to strengthen the independence of the testing labs and develop a process for third-party review of crash-test results."

"We encourage anyone interested in this process to read the GAO report and draw their own conclusions."

Full statement from Trinity Industries 

“The focus of this GAO report was on FHWA processes and procedures. E-TECH Testing Services, Inc., a testing lab operated by a Trinity subsidiary, responded to inquiries from the GAO in the course of their study." - Jeff Eller

Cox Media Group