Improving guardrail damage reporting and responding to promote injury prevention in motor vehicle crashes

Guardrails along roadsides can alleviate the severity of crashes if they function as intended. When guardrails are damaged or not maintained they can contribute to injury and death. There has been an exponential number of lawsuits pertaining to fatalities sustained from guardrails. Research on guardrail maintenance and performance is needed to improve safety. Much of the research on this topic is outdated, does not include sufficient data, or has reporting issues that impact results. To address this gap, a mixed-method sequential study, where quantitative analysis of administrative data informed qualitative inquiry, was conducted to better understand the processes by which damaged guardrails are reported to a state’s Department of Transportation. Administrative data from the Federal Highway Administration were analysed to assess factors associated with reporting of guardrail damage. Ten qualitative interviews were conducted with key informants to increase understanding of reporting. Only 26% of crashes involving guardrails were reported to the state’s Department of Transportations for repairs. Out of the number of crashes that went unreported, 92% of them had severe guardrail damage. Emerging themes were identified as issues in data quality, variety in reporting forms, and a reluctancy by first responders to report guardrail damage. These results demonstrate the need for greater attention to reporting of infrastructure damage including education for first responders on the importance of reporting crashes and guardrail damage to the Departments of Transportation as well as policy to develop a standardised way for first responders to collect information after a crash.