US highway guardrail system passes first mandated crash tests

New York

TRINITY Industries' guardrail system, which has come under scrutiny for locking when hit and piercing cars instead of helping them slow, passed the first four of eight government-mandated crash tests, a federal highway agency said.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) said on Friday that the devices used in the tests didn't penetrate the vehicles or their occupant compartments. The final assessment of the system's safety, which will include results from a second set of tests, will be released by the agency after it completes a review of the remaining crash data.