Safety concerns prompt province to replace 171 guardrails

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This article was published 15/12/2021 (1618 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Infrastructure announced a decision that made a Tennessee man’s day on Tuesday.

The ministry will spend an estimated $1.5 million to remove and replace all 171 Lindsay X-Lite guardrail systems on provincial highways over the next two years, according to a media release.

“Our government places great importance on road safety and continuously reviews potential safety concerns that impact Manitobans on our highways,” Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler stated in the release.

“After completing a review of the installation and use of the 171 X-Lite Guardrail Systems across the province, it was determined that these should be replaced to ensure greater safety on our roads.”

The release noted that safety concerns regarding the X-Lite systems were brought forward to multiple government agencies in North America, which led to their removal from the market by their manufacturer.

As reported by the Sun in October, Tennessee resident Stephen Eimers has spent the last five years trying to get X-Lite devices banned after his 17-year-old daughter collided with one while driving, killing her. Eimers later discovered he was not the only person to lose a loved one because of the device.

Eimers has seen success in the United States, where he has convinced several states to ban or remove the devices, and even got a federal bill passed that will prevent manufacturers from having safety tests for devices like guardrails performed by companies in which they possess a financial stake.

He has also had some success in Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

In Canada, the last province he had yet to convince to remove the devices was Manitoba. Earlier this year, he was told by a representative from Manitoba Infrastructure they would mitigate the devices without any further specifics given.

Reached by phone from Tennessee on Tuesday, Eimers said hearing the announcement made his day.

“That is amazing,” he said. “I’m literally out here cleaning windows and was able to share information with Manitoba Infrastructure and the minister of infrastructure and transportation, and they acted on it. I can’t wrap my mind around it sometimes.”

He said growing up in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, he watched games featuring the Winnipeg Jets and Winnipeg Blue Bombers on TV, but never dreamed that he would eventually do something that would affect the province in which they’re based.

Though Canada has now been cleared off his to-do list, Eimers said he still has work to do in states that haven’t removed their stock of X-Lite guardrails from the highway despite the product no longer being sold. He also said he has recently discovered another fatality related to X-Lite in Brazil.

“That a girl from rural east Tennessee could influence policy decisions in Manitoba, Canada — it’s amazing,” Eimers said of his daughter’s legacy.

In an email to the Sun, a spokesperson for Manitoba Infrastructure wrote: “the guardrails will be replaced with systems approved by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, including the SKT 350 and ET Plus Systems.”

Lindsay Transportation Solution issued the following statement to the Sun about the announcement:

“Road safety equipment continues to evolve with the advancement of new technology and to account for design changes in both our automobiles and highways. In 2017, the Federal Highway Administration [FHWA] examined and re-examined the X-LITE and its in-service performance and found that the X-LITE performed consistently with other end terminals then on U.S. roads and highways.

“Since this evaluation, new crash-testing standards approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the FHWA for the next generation of road safety equipment, including guardrail end terminals, have gone into effect and states across the U.S. have effectively been required to transition to the new requirements. As expected, certain provinces in Canada have followed suit.”

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