Comments on: another view of rail crossing deaths

By: Hosting

Hosting — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:22:56 +0000

Thank you for your help!

By: D5446

D5446 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:23:09 +0000

I’ve driven the shortline lumber train through my town dozens of times, and the general observation is that barely anyone in this town gives a fuck about train safety. They will risk anything to get over that crossing before the train does. I kid you not, at the main (active, lights, bells) crossing at the town entrance, i’ve actually had to stop the TRAIN to let motorists clear the tacks so that I can go across. I may be wrong, but doesn’t the railroad always have right of way?

By: Bruce De Benedictis

Bruce De Benedictis — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:55:39 +0000

I knew someone who jumped in front of a BART train and survived. He was barely injured. His parents said that he did not remember why he jumped. It must have been a random impulse.

I suppose such events are traumatic for the train operators.

By: Capricious Commuter

Capricious Commuter — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:18:09 +0000

Not to be cold and inhuman about it, but suicides disrupt rail traffic and incur costs in addition to the life lost. That says to me that it might be worth studying how to prevent them. On the other hand, I’m not sure how much we as a society are obligated to put up barriers just because people find trains and bridges convenient and/or spectacular ways to kill themselves. Certainly we can better control access to the tops of tall buildings (my colleagues saw someone fall past their windows at the old Tribune Tower), but there are limits to such things. How do you keep people from jumping in front of BART trains, for instance? I’ve seen such barriers for people movers in airports, but I can imagine that the cost would be prohibitive. One could argue that one’s life is more important, but it seems to me that all the barrier would do is force the person to find someplace else to publicly end his or her life.

By: Reedman

Reedman — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:23:19 +0000

It appears the present FRA data is not usable. From the Dept Of Transportation (referenced below):

“Suicides, as determined by local medical examiners, are not presently required to be reported by railroads to the FRA.”

But, it appears that it is enough of a problem to warrant a recent research grant:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/press-releasesold/158

By: Capricious Commuter

Capricious Commuter — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:37:26 +0000

yes. the Federal Railroad Administration has a site:
http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/

By: Reedman

Reedman — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:48:19 +0000

Does anyone have the statistics that say what percentage of trespasser/crossing accidents are suicide-by-train?

By: Guy Span

Guy Span — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:09:05 +0000

It is true that rust on the rails may prevent automatic warning devices from detecting an approaching single unit train, such as a high rail inspection truck (a regular road vehicle equipped for rail use), a rail testing car (Sperry Rail Service) or other light rail maintenance vehicles.

But for a heavy rail passenger train, such as an Amtrak engine and several passenger cars, such detection is automatic, unless the track has seen no service for months. The signals are inspected monthly, with signed forms, and a failure of the system sets the signals to warning position, even in the absence of a train.

So this nonsense red lines my cow manure meter, having worked in the industry. By the way, such maintenance vehicles that may not trip the automatic warning systems are required to hand flag crossings unless it is seen that the crossing system is indeed working.

Guy Span

By: Doug Faunt

Doug Faunt — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:19:11 +0000

Err, maybe I’ve spent too much time around uncontrolled grade crossings, but I always look before I cross railway tracks. Do drivers and pedestrians have no responsibility when crossing tracks?