| First, the good news about vehicle/train collisions at | | | | times, even tracks that are rarely used. If there is a |
| railroad crossings; the number of collisions at railroad | | | | stop sign at the crossing, stop! If there is a yield sign or |
| crossings has declined from a high of 13,557 incidents | | | | electronic signals, slow and make sure that no trains |
| in 1978 to 2,746 in 2007, a decline of 80%. Now the | | | | are approaching. |
| bad news; in 2007, there were still 2,746 incidents. | | | | - If there are two or more tracks, make sure there a |
| Drivers are still not getting the word that trying to | | | | train isn't coming in the other direction. In 2000, a |
| outrace a train at a railroad crossing is a lose/lose | | | | firefighter returning from a false alarm waited at the |
| proposition. 94% of the collisions and 87% of the | | | | crossing gates for a northbound train to pass. The train |
| fatalities at railroad crossings are caused by risky | | | | passed and stopped just beyond the crossing. The |
| driving behavior or poor judgment on the part of the | | | | firefighter drove his fire truck around the gate and was |
| driver. Look at the facts: | | | | struck and killed by a southbound train whose view |
| - A large vehicle such as a train appears to be moving | | | | was obscured by the stopped northbound train. The |
| slower than it actually is. The maximum speed for | | | | crossbuck railroad sign will indicate how many tracks |
| freight trains is 60 mph while passenger trains can | | | | there are at the crossing. |
| travel up to 80 mph. | | | | - When stopping at a railroad crossing make sure you |
| - Even at low speeds, the impact force of a train is | | | | stop no less than 15 feet from the tracks. |
| tremendous. A single locomotive weighing 432,000 | | | | - Never cross a railroad track unless you are sure |
| pounds traveling at 35 mph will impart a collision force | | | | there is room on the other side for your vehicle to |
| on a car of 885,000 tons of force. In order for an | | | | completely clear the tracks. Many collisions occur |
| average car to impart that kind of crash force it would | | | | when a vehicle's rear end is still hanging out over the |
| have to be traveling more than 4,200 mph. | | | | tracks. |
| - Once the train's engineer applies the brakes, the train | | | | - Don't shift gears while crossing a railroad track; it |
| will travel several hundred feet before air pressure is | | | | could cause your vehicle to stall. |
| applied to the brakes on all the cars of a train and they | | | | - If your car stalls on a railroad track, get out of the car |
| fully take hold. | | | | immediately, clear the tracks and call 911 for help. If a |
| - An average freight train takes 1 1/2 miles to come to | | | | train is coming, run away from the tracks in the |
| a complete stop. | | | | direction of the approaching train. If you run away from |
| - Of all the public railroad crossings (those crossing | | | | the approaching train, you may be injured or killed by |
| public roads and highways), only about 53% are | | | | flying debris when the train smashes into your car. |
| controlled by electronic signals. Many private railroad | | | | - Never try to beat a train at a crossing or snake |
| crossings (on farms and industrial parks) are not | | | | around the lowered crossing gates. Once the lights |
| marked at all. | | | | start to flash and the crossing gate arms go down, the |
| How do you guard against becoming one of the | | | | train will appear in about 20 seconds. |
| statistics? | | | | Learn more driver safety tips at The National Safety |
| - Assume that there is a train on every track at all | | | | Commission Alerts. |