State urges recall of rail tied to deaths

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a joint legislative resolution calling for a nationwide recall of an allegedly defective guardrail end tied to at least 11 traffic deaths across the country, including four in Tennessee.

The resolution, which received the governor’s signature Wednesday, marks Tennessee as the first state to urge federal officials to remove all X-LITE guardrail components.

“Tennessee is the first state to take a stand,” said Lenoir City resident Steven Eimers. “Hopefully this will prompt more states to take action.”

Eimers has been instrumental in pushing for such legislative action since the November 2016 death of his 17-yearold daughter, Hannah Eimers, in a crash along Interstate 75 in McMinn County.

He thanked the joint House resolution’s sponsor, Jimmy Matlock, R-Lenoir City and numerous other legislators for their leadership and quick action since the measure was introduced about five weeks ago.

Tennessee became the first state last year to announce plans to remove most of the X-LITE components from its roadways, totaling roughly 1,800 units, which account for about 7 percent of all guardrails across the state.

Another 13 states have made similar pledges since to remove some, if not all X-LITE guardrail ends.

“This is something that’s going to save lives,” Eimers said.

In an April 2017 letter to the Federal Highway Administration, Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer said X-LITE manufacturer Lindsay Corporation couldn’t resolve unclear installation instructions, and that the guardrail’s pieces had separated in crashes, resulting in vehicles being speared.

The joint House resolution, signed by Haslam on Wednesday, also calls on Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to rescind the FHWA’s reimbursement eligibility letter for the product.

Such letters allow states that use the product to receive federal infrastructure funds.

The letter is not required for federal reimbursement, but states rely heavily on the letters to determine which products to use.

MISSOURI HIGHWAY PATROL George Jansen’s 2016 Chevrolet Silverado left Interstate 70 in Missouri and struck a Lindsay X-LITE guardrail in February. The beam pushed Jansen out the rear window as the truck traveled another 168 feet.