California Zephyr vs. Semi near Somonauk IL

[illinoisandy]

Early information on Eastbound California Zephyr #6 and a semi truck having an incident just West of Somonauk IL in between Plano and Mendota.

Amtrak Location Map is showing it stopped there.

Local FD/PD and BNSF radio traffic has activity on going about the incident.

.WB # 5 CZ and # 3 SWC are getting by the location which seems positive

 

[PaulM]

Didn't #5 do battle with a car near Somonauk not that long ago? Along with the usual damage, it think it took down a signal gantry.

A google search showed it was 2009 and three passengers in the car died.

 

[Agent]

Looks like a truck was hauling a transformer.

 

[Agent]

Another article. One passenger was taken from the train to a hospital for "non life threatening injuries."

For the record, this is what #6 looked like before the incident. Not the first time I've filmed a train that was later was involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer.

 

[neroden]

Our standards for truck drivers in this country are way too low. Who ships a giant expensive high-and-wide-and-heavy load like a transformer and then lets an incompetent drive the truck and get stuck on the tracks -- undoubtedly ruining the transformer?

 

[NW cannonball]

Our standards for truck drivers in this country are way too low. Who ships a giant expensive high-and-wide-and-heavy load like a transformer and then lets an incompetent drive the truck and get stuck on the tracks -- undoubtedly ruining the transformer?

Right - this has happened recently before, high-wide-heavy-load with no clue about grade crossings. No plan, no clue, no idea about the risks. Driver has no clue, dispatcher has no clue, corporate has or pretends to have no clue. Never tell your DOT, never tell the railroad who's ROW you cross. Just send the driver with the load, and if you didn't do minimal due diligence - heyh - it will be a few years -- grump

 

[andersone]

The train always wins,,,,,

 

[Karl1459]

Looking at google maps and reading the news articles the crossing this happened was likely N48th Rd. I suspect the scenario here was very recent to the recent incident in Virginia, with the truck mostly crossing but fouling the rails and not being able to turn at the highway intersection due to traffic.

Obviously there were better routes for the truck to take, but there could be a number of causes besides driver stupidity including GPS error or a state/county permit requiring this unsafe route (not only truck drivers are incompetent).

I think a big safety push, especially if we get 90 mph speeds with PTC, is road over/under passes and closure of most if not all level grade crossings. Funded by the highway taxes of course.

 

[KmH]

Our standards for truck drivers in this country are way too low.

If the standards are raised, expect to pay more for pretty much everything you buy, because driver salaries will have to go up quite a bit.

Drivers will have to be given more time off too, adding to the number of truck drivers.

Did you know the trucking industry, at least regarding drivers, is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act?

I don't know if that is true for dispatchers and other trucking industry jobs.

A lot of trucking companies struggle to keep drivers in their trucks, because it's not a great job to have.

Lots of trucking companies have driver turnover rates that exceed 100% per year.

Large trucking companies often have as much as 20% of their fleet sitting idle simply because they don't have drivers for those trucks.

There is a perpetual shortage of truck drivers that hovers around 50,000 drivers nationally.

Driving a truck is one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs to have.

Fatality Rate - 29.5 per 100,000 workers

Median annual salary - $38,200

Check with some trucking companies and find out how many people start their training/indoctrination program that a year later are still driving one of their trucks.

I've seen 'classes' starting with 40 people that had 4 people complete the class, and none of those 4 were still driving a truck after 3 months on the job.

 

[Eric S]

I'd suggest that our standards for drivers generally are too low. But definitely for trucks.

 

[Shanghai]

I was on the Southwest Chief in August and we hit a tractor trailer truck in Kansas.

It was on flat land where one could see for miles, bur apparently the truck driver didn't!!

 

[DCAKen]

The truck driver was having some problems that day.

Truck knocked down power lines

 

[neroden]

Our standards for truck drivers in this country are way too low.

If the standards are raised, expect to pay more for pretty much everything you buy, because driver salaries will have to go up quite a bit.

No problem. Sounds great! This will also shift a lot of freight traffic to the rails where it belongs.
More importantly, it'll save us from horrors like this:

http://www.localsyr.com/news/bartender-killed-when-tractor-trailer-crashed-into-ithaca-commons-restaurant-owner-says

This was local to me. The underinsured trucking company can't pay anywhere near the total actual damages caused.

Drivers will have to be given more time off too, adding to the number of truck drivers.

Great, a jobs program!

Did you know the trucking industry, at least regarding drivers, is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Unconscionable. No, I didn't know that.

I don't know if that is true for dispatchers and other trucking industry jobs.

A lot of trucking companies struggle to keep drivers in their trucks, because it's not a great job to have.

Lots of trucking companies have driver turnover rates that exceed 100% per year.

Large trucking companies often have as much as 20% of their fleet sitting idle simply because they don't have drivers for those trucks.

There is a perpetual shortage of truck drivers that hovers around 50,000 drivers nationally.

Then they really should start paying them better and giving them better working conditions, shouldn't they? Just out of plain business sense? In order to retain drivers? But apparently they won't do it unless the government forces them to.
I think it's the fly-by-night companies, the ones which underinsure and declare bankruptcy every couple of years -- I think they're forcing the standards and wages down in the rest of the industry. Something should be done about it.

Driving a truck is one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs to have.

Fatality Rate - 29.5 per 100,000 workers

This does not surprise me at all, unfortunately.

 

[Agent]

YouTube user Steve Rubeck posted a video with the radio chatter between the engineer and the BNSF dispatcher during the incident. Also includes photos of the aftermath.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Our standards for truck drivers in this country are way too low.

If the standards are raised, expect to pay more for pretty much everything you buy, because driver salaries will have to go up quite a bit.

No problem. Sounds great! This will also shift a lot of freight traffic to the rails where it belongs.

The problem with that Neroden is you'll find that some of the railroads aren't really interested in the work. They actually push work to the trucks. I've watched it over the years firsthand. If it isn't over the road and bulk, some carriers balk. They don't want the "local work."

 

[NW cannonball]

The "free market at work"

Yup -- :unsure:

Shift the costs and legal liabilities to subcontractors that can't pay. Clever. Smiley smiley.

 

[neroden]

The problem with that Neroden is you'll find that some of the railroads aren't really interested in the work. They actually push work to the trucks. I've watched it over the years firsthand. If it isn't over the road and bulk, some carriers balk. They don't want the "local work."

Bad attitude. With rates deregulated, they can charge whatever it takes to make a profit, so why not do it? Bad attitude, I guess.

 

[me_little_me]

The train always wins,,,,,

No. The other vehicle may always lose but the train doesn't win.

Train human cost:

Traumatic encounter for engineer

Physical damage to engine and/or cars.

Injury to train passengers.

Delays for train passengers - both those on the train and those waiting at future stops.

Train financial costs:

Possible delays of other trains waiting on this one to arrive.

Delays of freight trains following.

Uncollectable damage cost to Amtrak.

Uncollectable damage cost to city/state for signal repair.

Uncollectable track damage cost to host railroad

Engines/cars out of service for repair.

Another nail in Amtrak's timeliness record.

No, trains don't win. They may lose less but not always.

 

[west point]

add extra crew time due to delay