State to Remove Guardrails Deemed Hazardous Following Death of WNY Native

Senator Catherine Young (R-Olean)

Editors Note: This story was updated on Jan. 31, 2018 to include a statement from Lindsay Transportation Solutions.

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ALBANY – Sen. Catherine Young says the state Department of Transportation will be removing all Lindsay X-Lite Guardrails‘ end terminal system from state roadways in the coming weeks.

The removal is the result of a campaign by former Fredonia resident Stephen Eimers, whose 17 year-old daughter Hannah died in 2016 after her vehicle struck and ending of the guardrail while traveling along I-75 in Tenessee.

Instead of deflecting and redirecting the car – which is the purpose of the guardrail, it instead pierced the vehicle, leading to Hannah Eimers’ death.

Eimers has claimed that the X-Lite guard rail’s end terminal system was dangerous and susceptible to piercing vehicles, and appealed to state departments of transportation across the country to remove them. Last year he wrote a letter to Gov. Cuomo, asking him to identify all X-Lite guardrails throughout New York, review crash test reports from departments of transportation in other states and work with state lawmakers to secure funding for the removal of the guardrails.

There are 43 locations on New York State maintained roadways that have X-Lite products, with 16 locations already addressed and 27 more slated for removal.

Following the announcement, Lindsay Transportation Solutions released the following statement:

“Lindsay Transportation Solutions builds road safety equipment that reduces risks for drivers on America’s roads. Lindsay proactively offers a variety of training resources to help states and contractors with proper hardware installation and maintenance, such as road safety tours, a mobile app available in four languages, and onsite training. While X-LITE has successfully passed crash and safety tests in accordance with Federal standards, there is no road safety equipment that can prevent injury every time a driver fails to stay on the road. Lindsay continues to work collaboratively with road safety stakeholders on national initiatives to enhance safety on America’s roadways.”