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On a cool spring day in March of 2000, the engineer of a CSX freight train in route to Tampa, Florida blew the train whistle one thousand feet from a railroad crossing in rural Tennessee to warn automobile drivers of the train’s approach. The engineer issued a longer warning six hundred feet from the crossing. With less than two hundred feet between the train and the crossing both the engineer and conductor watched in disbelief as a school bus began to cross the railroad tracks. One hundred and sixty feet from the crossing the train's emergency brake was applied and both men knew the only hope was for the bus to miraculously pull out of the way. The whistle blew and the brakes squealed the rest of the way. Countless people lose their lives or suffer tragic injuries due to train and automobile collisions. Despite a warning system that is firmly in place, driver inattentiveness, impatience and the disregard of railroad crossing warnings are major contributing factors to train and automobile collisions today.
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According to the Cleveland Daily Banner, the state of Tennessee has 3,424 railroad crossings and 61% of those are considered passive which means there is a yellow warning sign and a white crossbuck sign. A yellow advance warning sign is usually the first sign a driver sees when approaching a railroad crossing. The sign is located a sufficient distance ahead to allow a driver to stop before reaching the crossing. A crossbuck sign is a white x-shaped sign that indicates the location of the intersection of a roadway and railroad track. This sign requires drivers to yield the right of way to the train. The best way to approach this type of railroad crossing is to slow down, look, listen and be prepared to stop for a train. Drivers should never assume that the track is not used or a train is not approaching. One reason that railroad crossings are dangerous is, there are drivers who fail to yield the right of way to a train. Instead of stopping and waiting for the train to safely pass, they try to outrun the train by ignoring the warning signs or by driving around a lowered gate. If the railroad crossing does have a gate that is lowered, it means a train is present and the road is closed. Attempting to cross the tracks or maneuver around a lowered gate is unsafe and illegal. People who drive should also be aware of other vehicles that are required to stop at all railroad crossings. They need to be prepared to stop when following school or church buses, or driving behind trucks with hazardous materials placards. Federal regulations and the laws of most states require these vehicles to stop at every railroad crossing. Bus drivers are required to stop, open the door and driver side window, look and listen for a train before proceeding across the tracks. School bus drivers complain that drivers behind them honk their car horns and yell obscenities at them for stopping at railroad crossings. Today there is a single railroad crossing in my community that has a gate with lights and bells because of a school bus accident in March of 2000 where three children were killed. I believe that if people would get into the routine of stopping at all railroad crossings every time they approach one, it would become like second nature to them. When I drive my car and approach a railroad crossing, I stop and check twice in each direction before crossing the tracks. I consider it my responsibility, I owe it to myself and to the passengers in my car to protect them and keep them safe. |
Article written by Belinda. Do not use without permission.