Abstract: An improvement to an energy absorbing guard rail terminal for use on longitudinally extending roadways. The energy absorbing guard rail terminal having a number of overlapping horizontally extending parallel guard rails positioned on oppositely disposed sides of a plurality of longitudinally spaced break away posts with the upstream ends of the guard rails secured to the post. Splice bolts connect the overlapping ends of adjacent rails which are characterized by a plurality of openings within each horizontal rail aligned with the splice bolts whereby the impact of the vehicle on the upstream end of the rails will force the bolts to shred out the rail material between the openings within the rails. By absorbing the kinetic energy of the impacting vehicle, the collapseable guard rail terminal allows for safe deceleration of the vehicle upon impact, avoiding serious injury to the driver.