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11/10/06 Reducing Railroad Crossing Accidents
The old saying goes that in traffic accidents the big guy usually wins. In train-truck collisions the train is the big guy. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) there are more than 700 truck and bus highway-rail grade crossing collisions in the U.S. each year. In 2004 there were 777 such collisions that resulted in 45 deaths and 288 serious injuries.
There are some 145,702 public, at-grade, open highway rail crossings in the U.S. Because these crossings intersect with public roads they are subject to Federal jurisdiction. There are an additional 93,014 crossings on private property that are used to access residential, commercial or agricultural areas not meant for general public use.
In an effort that it hopes will reduce the number of collisions at railroad crossings, FMCSA in conjunction with the Federal Railroad Administration, (FRA) has begun distributing new 2-sided laminated tip cards to drivers across the country. “This new card will remind professional drivers of steps they can take to avoid needless tragedies,” said FMCSA Administrator John Hill.
Initially 250,000 of the cards will be distributed, with 150,000 of them going to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Plans also call for expanding the distribution of the cards to specialized carriers and industry associations, such as those involved in the transportation of hazardous materials.
FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman noted that the idea behind the cards was to remind drivers of basic railroad crossing safety procedures in order reduce the number of accidents and fatalities. “The more commercial vehicle drivers abide by these safety steps, fewer crashes will occur and more lives will be saved.”
The cards themselves are two-sided, multicolored and laminated. They are 3 ¾ in. x 8 ¾ in. and are designed to fit conveniently on a sun visor where they can be visible and readily accessible to the driver. One side reminds the driver of the precautions that he or she should take both when approaching a railroad crossing, and when actually crossing the tracks. The other side of the card details what emergency steps a driver should take if the vehicle either stalls on the tracks, or fails to entirely clear the tracks. Included is information on how to locate the DOT crossing identification number that is posted at all crossings, and the emergency phone numbers for U.S. railroads.
In addition to issuing the safety tip cards, FMSCA is focusing on the prevention of specific types of train crossing accidents. The agency held a meeting in September of this year to get input from stakeholders, other regulatory agencies, and the public regarding a proposed new rule. The rule would prohibit drivers from entering a railroad grade crossing unless there is sufficient room to clear the tracks completely without stopping.
The proposed rule seeks to eliminate a specific type of rail crossing accident that occurs when there is not enough “storage space” – (the space required for a truck trailer to completely clear the entire width of a train, not just the track width.) Typically in this type of collision a CMV will cross the tracks and stop behind a vehicle waiting for a traffic control device to change. The trailer will have cleared the tracks but not the width of the train.
The public meeting yielded some interesting results and showed that for at least some types of railroad crossing accidents solutions may not be as simple as passing a new regulation. For example, it was shown at the meeting that there are some 16,000 railroad crossings that have potential storage space problems. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) addressed this concern in written comments submitted to the FMCSA by noting that, “Railroad-highway grade crossings that do not contain enough storage space for a CMV beyond the crossing and before the intersection can be problematic to a driver. It is difficult to estimate accurately that enough storage space exists when, for example a CMV may require 65 feet when only 63 feet is available.”
OOIDA went on to note that the proposed rule might have unintended consequences. For example, “Automobile operators that drive around a CMV and cut back in front to occupy the space left vacant by a prudent CMV driver presents a daunting challenge…this..will cause a CMV driver to wait through multiple changes in traffic control devices because cars continually occupy the vacant space ahead of the CMV….Legislating courtesy and commonsense is impossible.”
The FMCSA in conjunction with FRA and the Federal Highway Administration, (FHWA) is conducting an ongoing study of grade crossing accidents associated with a CMV stopping prior to fully clearing the tracks. The agency is awaiting the results of that study, as well as further public and stakeholder input before issuing the new rule.
(The driver tip card can be downloaded from the FMCSA at: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/outreach/visor-vert-both-04.pdf)
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