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It is VDOT's responsibility to ensure guardrails are properly installed, maintained and repaired. Federal authorities and the leading association of state highway and traffic officials agree: when guardrail end terminals are improperly installed, or poorly maintained or repaired, these conditions can adversely affect their safety performance. Last December, Trinity Highway Products notified VDOT there were numerous ET Plus® System end terminals that were not properly maintained or repaired. The photos below demonstrate end terminal maintenance and repair is not a priority to VDOT. It has been ten months, and the end terminal above has not been repaired. There are many other end terminals on Virginia roadways in similar condition. In May 2015, a Federal Highway Administration memo to all state departments of transportation said, "it is critical that devices (end terminals) be installed and maintained properly so they are in the best condition to perform as designed and tested." Listen to the experts, VDOT. Invest in safety. Repair damaged guardrail end terminals.
10.09.2015 | Trinity’s Letter to VDOT on Test Observations
10.07.2015 | Richmond Times Dispatch – Schwartz and Goldberg: Virginia should put highway safety first -- not litigation
10.02.2015 | Trinity's Letter to VDOT on Tests #5 and #6
10.01.2015 | TTI Criticizes Arbitrary, Non-Standard Crash Tests Performed by Virginia
09.28.2015 | Trinity's Letter to VDOT on Test #4
09.25.2015 | Trinity's Letter to VDOT on Test #3
09.21.2015 | Trinity’s Letter to VDOT on Test #2
09.18.2015 | Trinity Highway Products Questions Virginia’s Crash Testing Process
09.18.2015 | TTI Response: TTI Has No Confidence in the Crash Tests Being Performed by Virginia
09.18.2015 | Trinity’s Letter to VDOT on Test #1
09.16.2015 | Trinity Letter to VDOT on Test Installation Inspections
09.11.2015 | Trinity Letter to VDOT on Testing Plans
An Open Letter to Commonwealth of Virginia Motorists September 2015
In releasing the results of the most comprehensive in-service analysis of roadside safety hardware ever, the Joint Task Force on Guardrail Terminal Crash Analysis said:
In addition to the report1, consider this: the ET Plus® System is the most crash tested product of its kind. It has successfully passed every standardized safety performance test, including eight additional tests conducted in December 2014 and January 2015. The ET Plus® System has been in service in Virginia for a decade and has played a key role in reducing reported fatalities on Virginia’s roadways by 92%. And when asked by federal officials in January how end terminals are performing on Virginia roadways, VDOT replied they are “performing as expected.”
So who is VDOT listening to? The transportation and safety experts who say that additional testing is irrelevant and not informative? Or are they listening to trial attorneys in the Commonwealth who are hoping for a payday? 1.Copies of the report can be found at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/guardrailsafety/safetyanalysis