US guardrails aren’t built for electric vehicles. It’s time to change that.

When a 7,000-pound electric pickup truck tore through a guardrail at highway speed during a crash test, it confirmed what many safety experts fear: The protective systems lining America’s roads are not ready for the next generation of vehicles.

Electric vehicles weigh more than traditional vehicles, often by 1,000 pounds or more, thanks to their batteries and reinforced structures. Recent testing and on-road crashes have underscored the danger, with electric cars and trucks overwhelming highway barriers designed for lighter vehicles.

Although the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Highway Safety Improvement Program is funding roadway upgrades through 2026, a critical safety issue is being overlooked. 

Modernizing the nation’s guardrail systems has slipped behind the push to build a nationwide network of vehicle charging stations. Guidance on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program was finalized just this past August. U.S. electric vehicle sales reached record levels in the third quarter of 2025, partly due to the expiring $7,500 federal tax credit, with overall sales reaching a 9.1 percent market share in July, and 11.7 percent in the third quarter. Continued strong growth is predicted, driven by falling battery costs and more affordable models coming to market.

Given the growing number of electric vehicles on our roads, infrastructure and the modernization of the nation’s roadway safety systems must advance simultaneously. 

Electric vehicles are literally changing the physics of roadway safety. Their added weight accelerates damage to roadway pavement, increasing the risk of accidents. 

And, when crashes occur, that same weight can turn a collision with a guardrail into catastrophic failure. Immediate action is needed to reinforce highway safety systems across the country’s highways, where millions of Americans travel every day.

Consider some of the dangers presented. As previously noted, electric vehicles are significantly heavier than traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines. The GMC Hummer electric SUV tops the charts weighing in at over 9,000 pounds. That extra weight increases the stress on pavement and, critically, poses new risks when vehicles collide with guardrails — the absolute last line of defense keeping cars from leaving the roadway.

Guardrails are designed to absorb and redirect the force of a crash, but many of the hundreds of thousands installed nationwide are outdated or improperly installed. In the most catastrophic failures, defective guardrails have pierced vehicles rather than protect them. 

The risk escalates with Electric vehicles. Their added weight, lower center of gravity and softer structure in the front, combined with higher highway speeds, means today’s guardrails are often no match. 

In fact, the first-of-their-kind crash tests at Texas A&M and the University of Nebraska over the last two years revealed that standard guardrail designs fail under electric vehicle impacts. A Tesla Model 3 and Rivian R1T both tore through guardrails during controlled tests, demonstrating the critical need for new engineering standards.

Sadly, these warnings are no longer confined to laboratories. As it stands, thousands of Americans die each year in car accidents where guardrails and other highway infrastructure fails. In recent years, electric vehicles have overwhelmed roadside protections. Each crash underscores the fact that today’s infrastructure is not designed for tomorrow’s vehicles.

An update to guardrail standards is long overdue. Many roadside safety features continue to be tested at speeds pegged at 60 to 62 mph, whereas highway speeds have climbed past 80 mph in many states. When you factor in the weight of an electric vehicle and its lower center of gravity, the deadly mismatch becomes obvious. 

Additionally, it has been nearly 10 years since the Government Accountability Office reported any flaws in the Federal Highway Administration’s guardrail testing program. To close this safety gap, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy should prioritize guardrail safety across the country.

There are four specific things to be done:

1. The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, which sets federal guardrail standards for state Departments of Transportation, should update guardrail design and testing standards to reflect electric vehicle weight and current speed trends. 
2. In partnership with state Departments of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation should prioritize the replacement of outdated guardrails nationwide.  
3. The Federal Highway Safety Administration should encourage collaboration between the makers of both EVs and traditional vehicles and highway safety engineers to develop roadway safety solutions that anticipate the realities of future vehicles for decades to come. 

America is at a crossroads. Electric vehicles are here to stay, and roadway safety cannot be an afterthought. Real progress requires broad national investment. That kind of commitment ensures that all Americans in every type of vehicle are protected when traveling our nation’s roadways.

Kevin Schrum is program director and senior engineer at Sicking Safety Systems.