The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have entered into an agreement to investigate crashes involving the most widely used energy absorbing guardrail end terminals in the United States. These include the ET-2000, ET-Plus, Flared Energy Absorbing End Terminal (FLEAT), Sequential Kinking Terminal (SKT), X-Lite, X-Tension, and Softstop. For each device, the evaluation will address:​

• Crash performance in terms of vehicle occupant risk.
• The sensitivity to varying effects such as environmental conditions, site characteristics, and impact conditions.
• The degree of sensitivity to improper installation, maintenance, and repair.

Data is being collected at test sites in four States that have agreed to participate in this pilot study:​ Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, and Missouri. This work is being done in cooperation with NHTSA, the Resource Center - Safety Technical Services Team (TST), the Office of Safety, and the division offices in each of the data collection States.

The objective of this paper is to present preliminary results of a novel data collection partnership between FHWA and NHTSA to conduct a pilot In-Service Performance Evaluation (ISPE) of Guardrail End Terminals (GETs). It will discuss source materials developed for the ISPE of GETs;​ explain the data collection partnership, methodology and status;​ and introduce sample cases.

Although studies involving joint data collection by FHWA and NHTSA are not new, this is the first time that the data collection has been driven by and tailored specifically to the needs of FHWA. In the 1980’s, the Longitudinal Barrier Special Study (LBSS) relied upon the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS CDS) data collectors to compile information relevant to FHWA. FHWA subject matter experts produced data collection documentation, forms, and training materials that supplemented the goals of LBSS established by NHTSA. The LBSS lasted for approximately five years. Over 30 years later, FHWA is partnering with the NHTSA Special Crash Investigation (SCI) Team to support the ISPE of GETs and explore the possibility of including several of the study variables as standard features of future NHTSA data collection efforts. This paper will review:​

• the impact of the data to be collected;​
• tools used to collect and share this data;​
• data elements and attributes.

Discussion will include what data has been and will be collected and how the data will be used. Ultimately, results of the study will be used to identify replicable patterns in the data that might enhance the design and testing of GETs.