This morning, I heard of yet another death when a train smashed into a motorist’s car while it was crossing the railroad tracks (with the guards down). Of course this was followed by the usual public service announcements that a motorist should never cross the railroad tracks when the guards are down.
Why then is a motorist ABLE to cross the railroad tracks when the guards are down? Doesn’t it make sense to extend the guards all the way across the road? Surely our highway department’s engineers are capable of designing crossing that can extend the entire width of the road.
We have more than our share of train related deaths at a couple of local crossings. Most are car/train accidents; a few are pedetrians being hit. They’ll never be in a hurry again. . . it’s so sad for the surviving relatives.
I think the biggest reason is to prevent people from getting trapped inside the gates.
That thinking is slowly changing I think. Some of the train gates where I live extend across all lanes of traffic. Once a friend of mine got stuck under such a gate when it came down, but luckily all he got was a scratched hood.
There’s another gate on an expressway in the area that not only goes across the entire road, but is supposed to be strong enough to stop a truck going 60 mph. There are only a few of its kind in the US.
the gates don’t extend totally across because if a car is stopped on the tracks (like for a light, and dummy stopped right behind the car in front on the tracks) and the gates go down, they don’t want the driver to think he can’t drive through. Actually the gates will not stop a car, maybe a yugo but not a car.
People in normal countries have the common sense to stop when they see a train coming. Only really stupid people (and superman) think that they can outrun a train.
I don’t understand this. Why would you want a gate that can physically stop a car, let alone a 60mph truck? Do people actually drive through gates and get hit by trains?
By the way, level crossings in Japan have gates that go all the way across the road. There is often a sign that says “If trapped inside, break down gate with car” or something like that. In addition, the gate on the near side close first, and the far side much later, so it’s difficult to get trapped. That is, unless traffic is blocked/stopped on the other side and you try to cross anyway - I suppose only proper education can prevent that. Also, all drivers stop at each railway crossing, like at a stop sign. Not just school buses, but all cars. You can get a ticket if you fail to do this, even (especially?) in the countryside.
They do indeed. Here, at any rate, it seems to happen regularly. I suppose people’s destinations are so ultra important that they can’t bear to wait a couple of minutes. (I suspect these are the same ones who cut me off on the road everyday.) What I don’t comprehend is why people walking on tracks get hit by trains so often.
Stupid is as stupid does. Too many people think they are bullet-proof. “Gee. Other people have died doing this, but I am smarter than they w…” Crash. Explosion. Sirens. TV cameras.
In the USA, most existing gates are simply warning devices, and are not intended to restrain a vehicle. I worked for a short line in Pennsylvania for several years, and at our busiest crossing we could expect to replace the gates 3 or 4 times a year, due to people driving through them while lowered. Fortunately there were no car/train collisions during my time there, but there were plenty of close calls.
The Federal Railway Administration (FRA) has been experimenting with a more positive barrier system, but as one poster mentioned, activating the system while vehicles are on the crossing would be a problem. Obviously high cost is another factor.
The only really effective protection is complete grade-separation of railways and highways, but in the USA neither the railroads nor local governments have the money and political will to do it.