Issues
Public Corruption Probe Targets Trinity Guardrails, Federal Highway Agency: Sources
4/21/15
The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the use of a highway guardrail system linked to at least eight deaths, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling a new wave of potential woes for manufacturer Trinity Industries Inc.
Trucking Fatalities Increase for Fourth Year in a Row
(Bloomberg) — The number of people killed in large-truck crashes increased for the fourth straight year, bucking a trend of overall improvement in U.S. highway safety.
Fatalities rose to 3,964 people last year, which includes truckers, pedestrians and the occupants of vehicles that collided with the big rigs, the U.S. Transportation Department said today in its annual traffic-injury report. That’s up 0.5 percent from 2012, even though highway deaths involving all types of vehicles fell 3.1 percent to 32,719.
30 States Ban Dangerous Guardrails
12/17/14
When it comes to highway safety, cover-ups and delaying tactics aren’t a good idea. Full disclosure is usually a much better option. Consider the history: Ford stonewalled on its exploding Pintos, and that ended up costing the company far more than if it had just quickly admitted there was a problem. General Motors dragged its feet on defective ignition switches, and Toyota fought off any suggestion that its cars unintentionally accelerated. In both cases, a quick mea culpa would have worked better.
Virginia Sues Trinity Industries Over Potentially Risky Guardrail
12/11/14
Virginia is suing the guardrail maker Trinity Industries, saying that it sold the state thousands of pieces of potentially dangerous, improperly tested and unapproved products.
The suit makes Virginia the first governmental entity to participate in whistle-blower suits against Trinity, which is based in Dallas. The suits were brought on behalf of state and federal governments, but none of those entities, until now, have been plaintiffs.
Blumenthal To Call On Federal Highway Administration To Expedite Investigation Into Possibly-Defective Guardrails
Guardrails In Use On Connecticut Roads; Connecticut State Officials Raised Concerns To FHWA About Safety of Guardrails
Producer of Highway Guardrails to Halt Sales
10/24/14
Trinity Industries, facing mounting criticism that its guardrails can impale drivers in crashes, said on Friday that it would stop selling the product, which 13 states have now banned, until further testing could be completed.
The announcement is a sharp reversal for the company, which had continued to sell the guardrails even as state after state this week said that they had banned further installations.
Virginia Threatens to Remove Guardrails Unless Manufacturer Performs New Tests
10/14/14
Concern is mounting over the safety of guardrails sold by Trinity Industries, as yet another state has threatened to stop buying them, and will consider removing them.
Virginia, in a letter sent to the company on Friday, told Trinity that state transportation officials did not believe Trinity had properly tested the end of a guardrail it redesigned in 2005. Virginia officials also told Trinity, which is based in Dallas, that the company had made changes to the design without telling them.
Highway Guardrail May Be Deadly, States Say
10/24/14
Federal highway officials had long insisted that guardrails throughout the state were safe. But some guardrail heads had apparently malfunctioned, in essence turning the rails into spears when cars hit them and injuring people instead of cushioning the blow, Missouri officials said.
“The device is not always performing as it is designed and intended,” a Missouri transportation official wrote of the problematic rail heads in an internal communication.