Guardrail Maker Trinity Faces Oct. 31 Deadline for Safety Plan

The U.S. said Trinity Industries Inc. must provide a crash-test plan by Oct. 31 following a verdict yesterday that the guardrail system maker duped the government by hiding changes to its product.

A Texas jury found yesterday that Trinity had defrauded the U.S. of $175 million, exposing the company to as much as $1 billion in liability and sending shares plummeting at a time when several states are scrutinizing the safety of its products.

The Federal Highway Administration this month asked all states to start submitting information on crashes involving the Trinity system, ET-Plus, to the agency’s safety office. The agency, which approves products for use on federal highways, will evaluate the findings of the case and “consider whether it affects the continued eligibility of the ET-Plus,” Brian Farber, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said after yesterday’s verdict by jurors in Marshall, Texas federal court.

In a letter today, the FHA said the company must now provide a crash testing plan for the ET-Plus by Oct. 31 or the agency may suspend or revoke the eligibility of the product.