"The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has examined and re-examined the X-Lite and its in-service performance and has gathered input from state departments of transportation across the country. The pilot program wrapped up in January 2019, and the final report is expected by the end of 2020. The pilot program was created to find the best processes and practices and share those with the states. From the description of the program: “Based on the number of crashes expected and based on historic trends, the current timeframe for completion will likely be insufficient to collect enough data to draw statistically significant conclusions about the safety performance of the devices.”Īt the time, most states weren’t conducting ISPEs, which is why they did not have much information to share with FHWA.
Also, the FHWA ISPEpilot program was not designed to collect data to make safety determinations. The memo states, “In considering the 200-plus crashes, the ratio of Fatality + Serious Injury per total crashes does not lead to any conclusions that any of the devices, including the Lindsay X-LITE, are unsafe.”įHWA admits to News4 that the data was very limited. That information came from a pilot program that was underway on guardrail crash data collection, a process known as in-service performance evaluation (ISPE). In its May 2017 memo, FHWA said it also examined the “most rigorous” data that it had at the time about how X-LITEs and other guardrails performed in real world crashes.
“Three states expressed some concerns with the device, including constructability challenges and overall quality concerns.” The memo does not specify which states that included, but Tennessee and Virginia had already stopped using the X-LITE due to concerns.
But according to a 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office, “FHWA does not have a process for formally verifying the testing outcomes and making its own or providing for an independent pass/fail determination.”Īfter Eimers’ meeting, FHWA re-examined the X-LITE crash tests and found “no notable concerns.” In a memo issued on May 3, 2017, FHWA said it also asked states for input on their “usage and experience” with the X-LITE. The letters are issued once FHWA confirms all required crash tests were run on the product. ‘There's an Emptiness': Family Mourns 85-Year-Old Woman Struck, Killed in ArlingtonĬompanies request eligibility letters from FHWA to make it easier to market their products to state departments of transportation. Wilbert Byrd, Jacob Davison and Lauren Beuttel died when the guardrail speared the vehicles they were in. However, the department pointed to two other accidents in the state before Hannah’s where the X-LITE did not function properly. The Tennessee Department of Transportation says the X-LITE functioned properly since it collapsed as designed. The guardrail pierced the driver’s side door. Hannah Eimers was 17 years old when she crashed into an X-LITE in Tennessee and died in 2016. None of them were able to comment on the investigation. News4 reached out to the Department of Justice, the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General and Lindsay Corporation for more details. While the exact allegations being investigated are unknown at this time, the False Claims Act signals that someone is accusing the company of knowingly defrauding the government. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, with the assistance of the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, are conducting an investigation of the Company relating to the Company’s X-Lite end terminal and potential violations of the federal civil False Claims Act. In June 2019, the Company was informed by letter that the Department of Justice, Civil Division, and U.S. In its annual report to investors, the parent company, Lindsay Corporation, disclosed the following: The maker of the X-LITE, Lindsay Transportation Solutions, insists its product is not defective and is safe. When hit head-on by a vehicle, the X-LITE is designed to collapse on itself to absorb the energy, but in some cases, it has speared vehicles instead, killing or maiming those inside. The company that developed, manufactured and marketed a guardrail end terminal being blamed on a number of deaths is under investigation by the federal government.
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