Most guardrails serve as safety devices for roads built on top of steep inclines. Should you veer dangerously toward the edge of the road or get into an accident that pushes your vehicle to the edge of a road, you may suffer a serious injury if you went off a steep incline. Your car might rollover, and you may have no chance of regaining control.In this sense, guardrails are a necessity, as they may keep you and your passengers from incurring further injuries in an accident. Not all guardrails, however, are as useful. In fact, many are quite dangerous. The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has standards of how guardrails can and cannot be designed. Unfortunately, not all areas of the country have adopted the new guardrail safety regulations.In particular, the FHA warns against three types of guardrails, all of which may seriously injure you in a collision: blunt end guardrails, turn-down guardrails, and unnecessary guardrails.Blunt end guardrails are, as the name suggests, blunt at their ends. These guardrails typically stop abruptly with a large, solid plate of metal to cap the end of the rail. While the guardrail itself is not a danger, the blunt end is. Blunt ends are designed to withstand impacts, so colliding with one means your car will stop abruptly, as blunt ends do not give way. This may throw you and your passengers around in the vehicle, potentially causing you internal injuries, broken bones, or worse.Turn-down guardrails are those which bend toward the ground at their end. Again, it isn't the guardrail that is dangerous; it is the end of the rail where it is turned down. Collisions with the downturn may put you at risk of a rollover or at violently spinning your vehicle around. This can be especially dangerous if you are flung into oncoming traffic.Unnecessary guardrails are the rails on roads that simply do not need them. While guardrails are helpful on roads built on inclines, guardrails on roads built on flat lands may cause more harm than good. It is not very difficult to stop a vehicle on a flat surface. The guardrail on such a road may cause you and your passengers harm because of sudden impact. If you go off road on flat land, you can slow your speed and drive slowly back onto the road, usually without damage to your vehicle and without injury to you.When a guardrail does not conform to FHA safety standards, you may suffer a serious injury and may need to file a personal injury lawsuit to receive financial compensation during your recovery period.