ORLANDO, Fla. — Two months ago, 9 Investigates warned viewers about a potentially hazardous guard rail system on highways all over the country.
Channel 9's Vanessa Welch now knows where the guard rails are located across central Florida. She also spoke with a local man who said one of the guard rails nearly killed his entire family.
“It was the most terrifying day I have ever had in my entire life,” Luke Robinson told Welch.
Robinson and his family left Orlando and hit a patch of black ice in Virginia in 2013. He lost control and slammed into a guard rail, which pierced through his car, according to a lawsuit. The guard rail caused the car to flip and pinned his 3-year-old son’s car seat to the roof.
Little Ethan broke his hip and suffered brain trauma in the crash.
“We were lucky, and what happened to us was still devastating,” Robinson said. “It’s not going to keep you safe.”
Robinson said Trinity Industries' ET Plus guard rail system failed to protect his family. And 9 Investigates discovered central Florida has nearly 2,000 of the guard rails on major roadways and interstates where many drive every day.
Welch showed Robinson the locations 9 Investigates uncovered through a public records request.
“Do you drive by some of these?” Welch asked.
“Every day,” Robinson said. “It gives me a lot of anxiety and fear.”
More than 30 states have banned the guard rails, pending a safety investigation.
Welch found that Trinity is accused of shortening the metal at the end of the guard rails from 5 inches to 4 inches in order to save money. Safety experts said that 1-inch change can have deadly consequences.
An animation obtained by 9 Investigates shows how the guard rail is supposed to absorb impacts and ribbon away from the car. But safety experts claim the new design causes it to lock up and slice through the car.
“It’s ridiculous,” Robinson said. “It’s absolutely asinine.”
While federal transportation officials are crash-testing the 4-inch system, critics maintain the tests will not determine whether the ET Plus system is safe.
“The testing appears to be really rigged and set up to make sure Trinity guard rails have the best chance of passing and what that does will help validate the government’s inaction,” said safety expert Sean Kane.
But the Robinsons remain hopeful the guard rails will be replaced.
“It’s unacceptable,” said Luke Robinson. “We need to get this fixed.”
Trinity said the tests are not rigged and are being conducted at a Federal Highway Administration-approved, independent test facility.
Federal transportation officials expect their crash tests to be completed in two weeks.