In the course of working with DC Congressional staff on the underride issue, I was introduced to another safety advocate. Steve Eimers is a dad who lost his daughter, Hannah, due to another safety issue — unsafe guardrails.

You might want to educate yourself on this roadway danger. But Steve can tell his story much better than I:

On November 1, 2016, my daughter, Hannah Eimers was driving to school with a friend in Tennessee.

She never made it. At just 17, she was speared by a guardrail end component called “X-Lite,” produced by the Lindsay Corporation. Hannah was eviscerated, but her friend walked away unscathed. https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2021/10/13/x-lite-guardrail-ends-lack-oversight-led-highway-deaths/8437923002/

Read more about the guardrail problem:

• Sealed, Confidential Documents Hide Fraud, Allow Deaths to Continue
• Fueled by grief, Tennessee father’s guardrail safety mission hangs on infrastructure bill
• Hannah Eimers remembered by parents Steve and Melissa

In particular, I am concerned about the states which have not decided to replace XLite guardrails —

Following additional spearing deaths, at least 18 states have removed their X-Lites from the roadside. Others such as Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Texas have not. Tens of thousands of X-Lites remain in use across the country and they continue to be impacted and kill the innocent. https://medium.com/@sjeimers/how-one-companys-fraud-is-leading-to-death-on-america-s-highways-84dc79cd26fc

Why Would We STOP Installing Unsafe Guardrails But Neglect To Replace Those Already On Our Roadways?! And, by the way, who should pay for this — besides too many precious ones gone too soon?