Mason Jones, known as “The Guardrail Kid” to his 19,000 followers on TikTok, works closely with road safety advocates, guardrail industry heads, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, writes Liz Crawford for CBS News Philadelphia.
In Spring of 2023, then 10-year-old Jones started watching YouTube videos about guardrails and became entranced by the potential dangers that improperly installed and damaged guardrails posed to people.
With his newfound knowledge, Jones decided to spend his time searching for dangerous guardrails in Chester County. Jones and his mother, Christine Miller, will go on foot or drive to various locations to scout out and inspect different guardrails, looking for incorrect bolts or rusted parts.
Jones has reported at least 50 guardrails to departments of transportation across the country. Matt Weachter, PennDOT’s Transportation Construction Manager, emailed Jones and asked him to bring his concerns directly to him, so Jones could bypass PennDOT’s Customer Care website.
Since he first took an interest in guardrail safety, Jones passed three training courses offered by Road Systems Inc., a guardrail manufacturing company. When asked why he is so passionate about guardrail safety, Jones said: “To keep others from being killed.”
Read more about Mason Jones’ advocacy for guardrail safety at CBS News Philadelphia.
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