Kansas, Missouri Suspend ET-Plus Guardrail Installations

Missouri and Kansas transportation officials have suspended installations of a guardrail system over concerns about its safety.

Critics of the ET-Plus guardrail systems contend its design allows sections of metal to break off and run through vehicles that collide with the rails.

The system is manufactured by Trinity Industries in Dallas. The Kansas City Star reports a Trinity spokesman defended the guardrails and predicted new federally required crash tests underway in San Antonio will show the product is safe.

A recent study funded partly by Missouri found that ET-Plus is almost four times more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than an earlier guardrail system.

Missouri suspended installations after survivors of a northwest Missouri man sued over an accident involving the ET-Plus system.