Metro-North train collides with car at grade crossing

[Thirdrail7]

We should pay closer attention to this case. Conspiracy theories are abound as the Metro-North engineer reaches a confidential settlement with the company.  The lawyers representing other interested parties are naturally crying foul and want the details released.

https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/02/metro-north-settles-valhalla-crash-lawsuit-steven-smalls/2462167002/?utm_source=oembed&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=storylines

“We want to know what his allegations against Metro-North are and what did they pay him,” said attorney Andrew Maloney, who represents 15 injured passengers as well as the family of Aditya Tomar, 41, of Danbury, Connecticut. “My clients are extremely upset that Metro-North has paid him off and they have not seen a penny.”

Metro-North dismisses any suggestion of an ulterior motive behind the railroad's decision to settle Smalls' claim.

I'm sure this isn't uncommon, particularly when the employee settles out:

Brody’s estate has been named as a defendant in a handful of lawsuits filed in state Supreme Court in Westchester, including one by Smalls, which claims he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Smalls, who lives in Orange County, has not returned to work and is no longer employed by Metro-North. He is also suing Mount Pleasant, saying the town knew the crossing was dangerous after an earlier accident and should have shut it down.

Most of the lawsuits filed by injured passengers and the estates of the dead say responsibility for the accident rests with Metro-North and Smalls.

They allege, among other things, that Metro-North signs near the crossing were confusing and that Smalls failed to apply the brakes in time, claims that Metro-North dispute.

“They’re (Metro-North attorneys) trying to put the sole responsibility on Mrs. Brody,” Dorfman said. “Not only is that not fair, it’s not accurate…We don’t believe it was her fault.”

Philip Russotti, the attorney representing Brody’s estate in a lawsuit against Metro-North, said Brody was not even aware she was on a grade crossing when her SUV was hit.

“It was a confluence of factors, it was like a perfect storm,” Russotti said.

He has plans to question Smalls about the settlement during this week’s deposition. “It certainly affects his credibility,” Russotti said. “We’re going to ask him the question and (his attorney) is going to refuse to let him answer.”

It always amazes me that the engineer always seems to be at fault, particularly when they allege Ms. Brody may not have been aware she was on the tracks.

Wow.

 

[Ryan]

Indeed.  If you're dumb enough to not realize that you've driven onto railroad tracks, you need to be paying a bit more attention behind the wheel.

 

[jis]

Indeed.  If you're dumb enough to not realize that you've driven onto railroad tracks, you need to be paying a bit more attention behind the wheel.

Specially when you were off the track and then managed to get your self on the track at the last moment.

Unfortunately, once you have lost situational awareness and are tense, all bets are off.

 

[Thirdrail7]

The attack on the engineer continues. Emphasis is mine.

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/investigations/2019/03/06/metro-north-engineer-steven-smalls-valhalla-ellen-brody/3019494002/

A re-examination of the final 17 seconds before a Metro-North train collided with an SUV at a railroad crossing in Valhalla four years ago is raising new questions about the split-second decisions made by the train’s engineer The Journal News and lohud.com has learned.

The new analysis, using data gleaned from the train’s onboard event recorder, is being used to challenge Metro-North engineer Steven Smalls’ decision to sound the train’s horn when he spotted a reflection of light at the Commerce Street crossing instead of immediately activating the emergency brake.

So, the attorneys want the crews to immediately dump the train into emergency if you see a "glimmer of light?" That will go over well.

'

Philip Russotti, the attorney representing Brody’s estate, attacked Smalls’ claim that he made the safest choice.

“Mr. Smalls, I will ask you one more time,” Russotti said as a day of intense questioning wrapped up. “If you had slowed down before you put the emergency brake on, it would have taken you longer to get to the crossing. Isn’t that true?”

“I’m not admitting anything,” Smalls replied. “Like I said I did what I did. I took the safest course of action. When I identified what it was, I put the brakes on. This was all 22 seconds.”

The exchange is captured in a transcript of Smalls’ January deposition for a lawsuit brought by the families of Brody and the passengers who died that was obtained by The Journal News and lohud.com.

It may have only knocked the SUV a few feet from the crossing and ignited more vehicles.

The NTSB report said Smalls told investigators he was 1,200 feet away when he noticed “a reflection of light” near the Commerce Street crossing but could not immediately determine what was causing the reflection. The event data indicated the train’s horn sounded at 6:25:56 p.m., about 1,424 feet before the collision. It sounded three more times before the collision. 

Russotti says that in the seconds after Smalls noticed a reflection, the train’s speed increased from 55 mph to 59 mph.

 “If he had even started to slow down when he saw the reflection, there would have been enough time for her to just get over that track,” Russotti said. “She was on the track when she was hit. All she had to do was cross the other track.”

Attorney Andrew J. Maloney, who represents Tomar’s estate, said passenger lives could have been spared if Smalls slowed down or pulled the emergency brake sooner.

If all she had to do was cross the track, why didn't she do it? A glimmer of light can be a billboard, the moon shining on the rail, a car on a curve.  However, a car is not supposed to stop on the railroad tracks and that is the point that should be pushed.

Throughout the days of questioning, Smalls insisted his training instructed him to blow the horn until he identified what was on the tracks.





“I just know that when you see something, you blow the horn,” Smalls said on the second day of questioning. “You just don’t dump the train and put it in emergency.”





He said he was trained not to use the emergency brake until he identified what was on the tracks.





“Because if you put the train into emergency and you have passengers on a train, you can derail a train doing that,” he testified. “Somebody can be standing up. I mean there’s a number of things that can happen.”

Later, when asked to recall just when he realized it was an SUV on the tracks, Smalls said: “You know, this is really tragic right now and you’re asking me – all I can think about is the tragedy that happened. You’re asking me to recall the distance and I can’t recall the distance.”

Smalls says he stood and braced himself for the crash after he spotted Brody inching her car up on the tracks and stopping.

Dumping a train is serious. it is not to be taken lightly.

Metro-North has so far refused to disclose the terms, saying to do so would give other litigants an unfair negotiating advantage in future settlements. The railroad says Smalls acted heroically and was found to have performed “in accordance with all procedures and regulations.”

"Any allegation that Mr. Smalls acted improperly, then or since, is meritless, if not contemptible,” the railroad said in a statement issued in January.

It IS contemptible. I wish the Son of Sam laws covered estates because her estate should be sued.

 

[Acela150]

This poor guy. He's getting blamed for something that the NTSB said he was NOT at fault for. 

 

[Thirdrail7]

Mr. Brody is now an advocate for railroad grade crossing safety and he has a lot to say. Unfortunately, his grasp is shaky and he make several noticeable errors. Naturally, his wife or her lack of motor vehicle law knowledge is not mentioned.

Alan Brody: Metro-North, LIRR, NJ Transit fail to make railroad grade crossings safe
https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion...ta-street-crossings-like-valhalla/3200581002/

While I see his point about PTC,

Schumer was a key player in securing a $1 billion loan the MTA needed to finance the PTC installation. But it doesn’t even address the single largest problem in railroad safety — the crossings, which generate up to five times more accidents than any other type of rail hazard.
There are over 5,000 of these crossings in New York. Around 700 incidents a year in New York cause about 25 fatalities and hundreds of injuries.
Though much delayed, 2008 Federal legislation required the MTA to install this massive PTC technology system to protect trains from running into each other and their workers and from derailment caused by speeding.
While this indirectly benefits the public, the area that that most affects them — the crossings — are simply overlooked.

He simply loses it with the rest.

The obvious solution to all of this is to take away the responsibility for crossing safety from the railroads and turn it over to people that understand the problem from the point of the view of the public: highway engineers. You wouldn’t ask a trucker to design a safety system for cars or an oil tanker company for yachts, so why are railroads responsible for the safety of motorists?

The DOT is heavily involved in grade crossing safety and traffic engineers are involved in the design. Te railroad maintains the ties and the apparatus...if it exists.

Since railways date from the development of major cities, they assume an ownership of vast tracts of strategic land and an absolute right of way. How else could you explain that when an engineer noticed signs of a car belonging to my wife, on a railroad crossing in Valhalla in 2015 due to series of incidents with missing and defective signs, he simply blew his horn and the train sped up.

Not only did National Transportation Safety Board examiners accept this without a second thought but a board executive referred to her as a trespasser.

With that mindset, it is understandable why neither the MTA nor any other group would substantially improve railroad safety on their own.

The bottom line is that the railroads would rather blame than innovate. The MTA spends money promoting “Wait for the Gate” with billboards and flyers instead of sealing access to the gates that would avoid these incidents in the first place.

Railroads are neither competent nor motivated to view crossing safety from the public’s point of view. In fact, State Sen. David Carlucci and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti passed legislation for the state Department of Transportation to do just that. Why hasn't MTA worked with DOT to get this study done?

It is time to take railroad safety back, renegotiate the rights of way and implement a modern safe crossing system. We need competent highway engineers take charge before modernity collides once more with the past, creating another wave of destruction.

Once thing he leaves out that I will bring up. What about ignorant drivers? How often are they tested? I would be interested in knowing when is the last time he or anyone in his family had to familiarize themselves with the driving laws of the state?

If they had to take a test every time they had to renew their licenses, perhaps they'd be familiar with this tidbit from the NY Driving manual:


Chapter 10: Special Driving Conditions

Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to cross any railroad tracks unless you are certain your entire vehicle will clear all of the tracks at the crossing. You cannot go across any railroad tracks unless there is room for your vehicle on the other side. If other traffic prevents you from going fully across, wait and go across only when there is room.

Additionally,

What should you do if you stall on the tracks, for any reason?

1. GET OUT! (That includes EVERYONE in the car, children, babies, an elderly passenger, etc.)

2. Get away from the tracks, even if you do not see a train.

3. Locate the Emergency Notification System sign and call the number provided, telling them about the stalled vehicle.

Run toward the general direction the train is coming from. If a train is approaching, run toward the train but away from the tracks at a 45-degree angle. If you run "down the track," in the same direction as the train, you can be hit with debris when the train hits your vehicle.

She remained on the track and proved ZERO warning. I wonder when is the last time their family reviewed this motor vehicle law. Perhaps Mr. Brody would like to advocate for taking a test during license renewal.

By the way, Mr. Brody....your wife IS a trespasser. She stopped on private property and violated motor vehicle law. You shouldn't be surprised the NTSB pointed it out.

 

[neroden]

I would like to advocate for a test during driver license removal myself. Maybe we can start an organization...

 

[Thirdrail7]

5 years after this deadly incident, Mr. Brody seems to have backed off his shrill defense and makes a logical point.

Husband of Valhalla Metro-North crash victim continues fight for signage, lighting changes
http://www.news12.com/story/4164779...-continues-fight-for-signage-lighting-changes

When asked about those who point the blame on Ellen Brody, Alan Brody disagrees.

"I say that she was brought into a situation of complete unawareness ... It's in the middle of a cemetery, it's dark, the signage is not legible, not viewable at night," says Alan Brody.

Alan Brody says minuscule changes like adding lights and adjusting signage could've prevented the tragedy.

"Stop signs are usually around 7 feet. These are 13. You need to be 75 feet or more away for it to light up. So, when you come around that turn at Valhalla, it's too close," says Alan Brody.

I do agree that there is a nationwide problem with signs. Not all railroad crossings have advance warnings and they are often poorly lit. Some have crossbucks with no advance warnings. If you're not familiar with the area you're operating, it can be an issue.

We can do better on this front.

Of course, there is the bright headlight, the horn, the ringing bell that also alerts you to the presence of a train but that's another story.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Meanwhile, Mr. Schumer manages to confuse facts as he fights for the microphone.

Schumer accuses MTA of dragging feet on HV rail crossing updates
http://www.news12.com/story/4170497...-of-dragging-feet-on-hv-rail-crossing-updates

Schumer wants the MTA to use $5 million that the federal government gave the agency four years ago to make safety upgrades to 53 dangerous railroad crossings in the Hudson Valley.

"So, they have the money. Where's the improvements?” said Schumer. “That's the purpose of being here today. We got you the money three years ago. Where are they?"

Schumer says if the improvements had been made, the Sloatsburg collision might have been prevented, along with fatal train crashes in Valhalla in 2015 and Spuyten Duyvil in 2013.

Nancy Montgomery, a spouse of one of four people who were killed in the Spuyten Duyvil crash after the train derailed, joined Schumer as he lobbied for train safety.

While it is an interesting question, I fail to see what grade crossing upgrades have to do with the incident at Spuyten Duyvil.

 

[west point]

IMHO crossings such as this need advance warning systems that go off earlier. Of course RRs are going to have to install additional predictors but that may help. Any blind curve needs these advance warnings as well as crossings where trains go over 50 MPH.. These early warnings might have prevented the CAL Z accident ? It is up to the states to either install these advance warnings or eliminate the grade crossing.