David Ellin: “Everything has to work in harmony to protect public safety.”
Source: Joy Lepola and Paul McGrew | Fox Baltimore
A driver loses control of her car. A guardrail may be the last piece of protection keeping that car from going off the road.
But states around the country are starting to replace certain types of these safeguards, questioning their effectiveness.
VIDEO: Maryland SHA Considering Removal Of X Lite Guard Rail Systems In Maryland
At 17, Hannah Eimers was in her second year of college. This summer she hoped to work in a film studio.
Last November, Hannah and a friend left a Halloween party in Georgia and headed for home in Tennessee.
Hannah never made it back.
Her car swerved off the road and hit the end of a guardrail that tore through her car, and instantly killed her.
Hannah’s father blames the maker of the guardrail end, Lindsay Corp.
“I know a guardrail came into my daughter’s vehicle and that is not supposed to happen,” Steve Eimers said of Hannah’s accident.
A guardrail terminal end is like a cap on the end of the guardrail. The cap Hannah hit was the Lindsay X-Lite, designed to collapse in on itself and safely slow a car down.
That same kind of guardrail end can be found in Maryland. The State Highway Administration (SHA) estimates 1,635 of them line state roads.
Tennessee and Missouri are removing the X-Lite. Virginia and Ohio no longer use them.
Maryland hasn’t made a decision about it.
SHA says it is not aware of any accidents involving the X-Lite in Maryland.
Lindsay Corp. says in a statement, ”the equipment’s inability to singly prevent every tragedy does not indicate a flaw or defect.”
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) asked all 50 states to submit data on the Lindsay X-Lite.
The X-Lite continues to be deemed acceptable for highway use by FHWA.