While you’re out on the roads, you’ve probably noticed guardrails. These metal bumpers serve as a barrier often between you and a steep fall off of a cliff, or any number of other dangerous situations. As drivers, it’s easy to rest assured that these guardrails will have your back, should you ever need them. After all, the state has warranted them necessary, so they should also have warranted them effective, right?
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As with any product of engineering, it is helpful to reconsider effectiveness every few years, to ensure that it is still properly doing its job. Items like guardrails, that have a very specific goal of protecting drivers’ lives, should definitely be put under scrutiny.
A recent story out of Denver reveals that a review of guardrail effectiveness may be overdue.
An accident this summer shed a spotlight on the potential dangers of improperly repaired guardrails. According to reports, in one specific accident, the guardrail penetrated the cabin of the car and caused significant injuries to the driver, instead of diverting and deflecting the car as is intended.
The Colorado Department of Transportation began reviewing the connections on over 42,000 guardrails as a result of this accident, which exposed a widespread safety issue. The state uses two different guardrail manufacturers for its guardrails. While the parts from the different companies do fit together, they do not apparently work together and render the guardrail ineffective. So, if a guardrail is repaired with a part from a different company, it possess the potential to injure instead of protect.
An official from the Federal Highway Administration believes this is a low-risk situation, and the maintenance crews sent to investigate the guardrails should be finished this month.
We’ll Look Out For You
However, we cannot help but to wonder how no one considered the potential ineffectiveness of these repaired guardrails before? Our condolences go out to the driver who was seriously injured as a result of guardrail malfunction, as no one should have to suffer because of improper safety options.
As Denver auto accident lawyers, we believe in fighting for our clients’ rights. Too often, innocent drivers are put in harm’s way as a result of negligence on the part of the state or other drivers. While we appreciate the fact that CDOT has taken swift action to investigate other potentially dangerous guardrails around the state, we know that it does not make up for the pain inflicted upon those injured before those updates were made.
If you or a loved one have been injured in an automobile accident, you can rest assured that we are here to help. Our team of attorneys is ready to help you get the justice you deserve. So do not hesitate to contact us.
We’ll be happy to set up an initial consultation, so you can get back to living your life.
