10/30/21 Auto Train #53 fatal collision in North Charleston

[Cal]

I remember when I used to visit Surprise, AZ fairly often to visit relatives I would cross the tracks that run parallel to Grand Ave, so many people would stop directly on the tracks or have the rear half of their car on the tracks while waiting for the light.

 

[WWW]

It is imperative that with a roadway controlled by a traffic light at an intersection with railroad tracks and signals -
that the railroad tracks be cleared of traffic !
The faster the speed of the train the more time coordination is required to prevent traffic parking on the tracks
waiting for the traffic signal to change !

 

[BCL]

Most of us can read and can be prepared to follow at enough of a distance to allow stopping when the bus stops. We can't anticipate when a car/truck/suv/etc might stop, though we should all follow the 3 (or is it 2) second rule when following vehicles.

Legally if someone stops and gets rear ended, it's almost universally deemed to be the fault of the driver from behind. There are going to be situations where an emergency stop may be needed, and following too closely and not paying attention can result in rear end collisions.

 

[TrackWalker]

This is the only graffiti I never removed.

 

[me_little_me]

Putting a stop sign right before every grade crossing might not be a bad idea.

At the very least, every crossing without gates or lights.

 

[me_little_me]

Legally if someone stops and gets rear ended, it's almost universally deemed to be the fault of the driver from behind. There are going to be situations where an emergency stop may be needed, and following too closely and not paying attention can result in rear end collisions.

Then again, if you stop and the guy behind you doesn't, what happens? You get pushed onto the tracks. Worse, your car may now be disabled. The car may be compressed so as to prevent the doors from opening. The electric windows may not open. That's even worse than almost anything - stuck on a track and you can't get out.

Doesn't matter if the other person is at fault at that point in time except to your relatives who might collect money from the idiot. Then THEY get to take a trip in THEIR new car.

 

[John Santos]

Then again, if you stop and the guy behind you doesn't, what happens? You get pushed onto the tracks. Worse, your car may now be disabled. The car may be compressed so as to prevent the doors from opening. The electric windows may not open. That's even worse than almost anything - stuck on a track and you can't get out.

Doesn't matter if the other person is at fault at that point in time except to your relatives who might collect money from the idiot. Then THEY get to take a trip in THEIR new car.

Get out of your old car. Get off the tracks. It is now your OLD car because the idiot has just bought you a brand NEW one, and new replacements for any property in your car. Also, the idiot is paying your medical bills and funeral expenses, but it is better (for you) not to have them.

 

[John819]

This all comes down to the saying that you can't make anything idiot proof because they keep making better idiots.

However, there is a good, albeit expensive, solution - the four way gates with an induction loop detector that automatically applies the train brakes if a car in in the crossing once the gates come down. This is used at the few remaining grade crossings on the NEC (they could not be removed because they provided the sole access to waterfront properties and it was way to expensive to build crossing bridges).

 

[Seaboard92]

Actually what we need to do is what the Russians have done in problematic crossings.



As you see in this video the gates come down then a road blocker similar to what we've installed around government buildings to prevent people from entering the crossing. But you can still exit the crossing if you are stuck in the crossing. The annoying sound also would do good things to announce a train is coming as well. The other thing that might help is the super flashing LED crossing lights as that gets your attention.

It isn't hard to prevent these deaths it just takes some money. And because it takes money I honestly don't think we will ever see it in our lifetimes. It's cheaper to pay a few insurance claims or have some delays then it is to safeguard things.

 

[BCL]

Actually what we need to do is what the Russians have done in problematic crossings.



As you see in this video the gates come down then a road blocker similar to what we've installed around government buildings to prevent people from entering the crossing. But you can still exit the crossing if you are stuck in the crossing. The annoying sound also would do good things to announce a train is coming as well. The other thing that might help is the super flashing LED crossing lights as that gets your attention.

It isn't hard to prevent these deaths it just takes some money. And because it takes money I honestly don't think we will ever see it in our lifetimes. It's cheaper to pay a few insurance claims or have some delays then it is to safeguard things.

How about in China, where there's going to be a guard house and a full gate sliding out? Not just a wooden/metal crossing arm. Granted the big problem is the cost of the guard. In China the government is willing to pay a lot of people to do relatively menial things. I'm not sure who would be responsible for a guard shack and guards. The freight railroads aren't likely to pay for it.

 

[me_little_me]

People do it because they can get away with it. As I have said before, a good start would be to have gate/light/track-activated cameras that store videos of trespassers when the light or gate are activated or a train coming (for non-signaled crossings) which then store the information so the police can regularly (weekly or monthly) check if there were trespassers. If so, those drivers (or vehicle owners) are sent a ticket just like red light cameras. After the third (or whatever) occurrence by that driver or vehicle, the vehicle is seized.

Live video feed would not be required. An modern SD card can hold a LOT of data and, if triggered with a sensor picking up motion along with the light/gate/train, would enable plenty of storage time. Even without a sensor, a lot of recordings can be made.

 

[BCL]

People do it because they can get away with it. As I have said before, a good start would be to have gate/light/track-activated cameras that store videos of trespassers when the light or gate are activated or a train coming (for non-signaled crossings) which then store the information so the police can regularly (weekly or monthly) check if there were trespassers. If so, those drivers (or vehicle owners) are sent a ticket just like red light cameras. After the third (or whatever) occurrence by that driver or vehicle, the vehicle is seized.

Live video feed would not be required. An modern SD card can hold a LOT of data and, if triggered with a sensor picking up motion along with the light/gate/train, would enable plenty of storage time. Even without a sensor, a lot of recordings can be made.

Enterprise quality storage is more expensive than a consumer-grade SD card.

 

[me_little_me]

Enterprise quality storage is more expensive than a consumer-grade SD card.

And commercial cameras are more expensive than the cheapies but it is still a lot less expensive than rebuilding crossings, adding lights where there are none, adding gates where there are none.

 

[west point]

IMO gate cameras are a great idea. However who will design them and how to get chips for them in the next 2 - 3 years.