[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77595-77596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30081]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2014-0039]


ET-Plus Guardrail End Terminal

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice; Request for Information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to request data and information 
regarding the ET-Plus guardrail end terminal (ET-Plus) manufactured by 
Trinity Industries, Inc. (Trinity). In 2005, the FHWA determined that 
ET-Plus guardrail end terminal met the relevant crash test criteria and 
therefore was eligible for Federal-aid highway funding. This fall, a 
jury issued a verdict that Trinity made a false or fraudulent claim to 
FHWA when it sought the eligibility determination for the ET-Plus. 
Additionally, a number of parties have raised concerns about the in-
service performance of the ET-Plus and the potential variability in the 
dimensions of installed units of the ET-Plus. As a result, FHWA is 
undertaking a number of efforts to assess these issues. The FHWA is 
seeking technical information and data to assist in this work.

DATES: Data and information must be submitted to FHWA on or before 
February 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver data and information to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room W12-
140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, or fax comments 
to (202) 493-2251. Alternatively, data or information may be submitted 
to the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Please 
note that the Federal eRulemaking portal is unable to receive videos or 
any document larger than 10MB. If you would like to submit a video or a 
document that is 10MB or larger, please directly contact one of the 
individuals identified in this notice. All data and information must 
include the docket number that appears in the heading of this document. 
All data and information received will be available for examination and 
copying at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of 
receipt of data and information must include a self-addressed, stamped 
postcard or you may print the acknowledgment page that appears after 
submitting comments electronically. Anyone is able to search the 
electronic form of all information in any one of our dockets by the 
name of the individual submitting the information (or signing the 
information, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, or 
labor union). The DOT solicits comments from the public to better 
inform its activities. The DOT posts these comments, without edit, 
including any personal information the commenter provides, to 
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Griffith, Office of Safety, 202-
366-9469, [email protected], Federal Highway Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. For legal questions, 
please

[[Page 77596]]

contact Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Chief Counsel, FHWA Office of the 
Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1523, or via email at [email protected], 
Federal Highway Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access and Filing

    You may submit or retrieve information online through the Federal 
eRulemaking portal at: www.regulations.gov. The Web site is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission and 
retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section of 
the Web site.
    An electronic copy of this document may also be downloaded from 
Office of the Federal Register's Web site at: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register and the Government Printing Office's Web site at: 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov.

Background

    As a national leader in highway safety, FHWA is responsible for 
ensuring that America's roads continue to remain among the safest in 
the world. This commitment to safety is the principle that guides all 
our efforts, and FHWA is acting on multiple fronts to ensure the safety 
of roadside safety hardware and, specifically, the ET-Plus guardrail 
end terminal.
    The FHWA's strategy includes a data-driven determination regarding 
the performance of the ET-Plus and reviewing our existing processes for 
assessing the safety of roadside safety hardware to determine whether 
we need to change them.
    Most immediately, we need to reach a conclusion about the 
performance of the ET-Plus based on the data we are collecting and 
reviewing. Our first step is to review all previous crash tests of the 
device and to obtain new testing to ensure that the ET-Plus meets the 
National Cooperative Highway Research Program test criteria (NCHRP 350) 
test criteria applicable to this device. These tests, along with field 
measurements of installed devices, will help confirm that the at least 
200,000 ET-Plus devices on the system met the same criteria as all 
other guardrail end treatments. We expect to receive, review, and make 
the crash test results public in early 2015, after the completion of 
the testing and our review of the data. If the ET-Plus end terminal 
fails the crash tests or FHWA otherwise determines that the ET-Plus 
poses safety concerns to the traveling public, FHWA will revoke the 
eligibility letter for the device.
    More broadly, FHWA is reviewing multiple sources of information we 
have collected to assess whether the ET-Plus has vulnerabilities 
outside of the NCHRP 350 testing now being conducted. The review of 
this information will help FHWA determine whether to require additional 
testing of the ET-Plus or other devices in the same class.
    Another key component of FHWA's ongoing efforts is to evaluate the 
in-service performance of the ET-Plus. We are collecting a broad array 
of data to support this assessment. The FHWA asked all State DOTs to 
send us information regarding the performance of the ET-Plus on their 
roadways. Additionally, we have obtained information about the ET-Plus 
that was presented in the recent trial in Texas, as well as data 
received from parties involved in the trial. We have analyzed our own 
safety data and data from our Federal safety partners, including the 
Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study, the Highway Safety Information 
System, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. We will objectively 
and thoroughly assess all of this information to reach a data-driven 
conclusion about the real-world performance of the ET-Plus.

Purpose of This Notice

    As part of our information gathering about crashes involving the 
ET-Plus guardrail end terminal, FHWA is seeking data and information 
regarding the in-service performance of the ET-Plus. In particular, we 
are seeking two sets of data and information. First, we are asking for 
any data and information concerning vehicle crashes involving the ET-
Plus. Second, we are asking for any data and information about the 
dimensions of the ET-Plus as installed along roadways.
    1. ET-Plus Crash Data and Information. The FHWA is seeking data and 
information concerning vehicle crashes involving the ET-Plus. We are 
seeking crash reports, photographs of damaged ET-Plus devices at crash 
scenes, photographs of vehicles at crash scenes that impacted ET-Plus 
devices, and crash reconstruction reports with corresponding data. The 
type of data and information we are requesting includes, but is not 
limited to the following:
     Crash narratives;
     Crash diagrams;
     Severity of the crash as noted in the crash report 
(Killed, A injury, B injury, etc.);
     The approximate mass, speed, and angle of impact of the 
vehicle;
     The orientation of the vehicle as it impacted the terminal 
(head-on, side-impact, front corner, etc.);
     The location of the crash (State, route, county, mile 
marker);
     The type of road on which the crash occurred;
     The weather at the time of the crash;
     The condition of the shoulder and/or roadside at the time 
of the crash;
     The installation and maintenance history of the terminal; 
and
     The condition of the terminal prior to the impact.
    2. ET-Plus Dimensions as Installed. The FHWA is seeking data 
concerning the dimensions of the ET-Plus devices installed on highways. 
In particular, we are interested in a few key dimensions: Channel 
width, exit gap, guide chute exit height, and outside guide channel 
length. We also are interested in any other dimensions that could be 
useful in determining the in-service performance of the ET-Plus. We are 
asking for existing data and information that the public may have and 
are not asking the public to undertake any activities that may risk the 
safety of themselves or others.
    The FHWA plans to objectively and thoroughly assess all data and 
information provide to us. We ask that any data or information be 
provided on or before February 9, 2015.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they 
conduct, sponsor, or require through regulations. This action contains 
a collection of information requirement under the PRA. This information 
collection requirement has been previously submitted to OMB for 
approval, pursuant to the provisions of the PRA. The requirement has 
been approved through May 31, 2017; OMB Control No. 2125-0025.

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 148 and 315.

    Issued on: December 18, 2014.
Gregory G. Nadeau,
Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-30081 Filed 12-23-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P