‘He Drove Around the Gate Arm, Trying to Beat the Train.’
Injuries and deaths occur at rail crossings every day. In 2021, there were more than 1,600 collisions between vehicles and freight and commuter trains, and nearly 500 collisions at transit train crossings in 2020. The result: 133 people died and 644 people were injured. Most of these tragedies are preventable.
Freight and Commuter Trains
Steps for Navigating Crossings
- Stop, look both ways, and listen. Know that trains always have the right of way.
- Don’t stop on the tracks. Make sure you have room to get across. Once you enter the crossing, keep moving.
- Stop 15 feet away from flashing red lights, lowered gates, a signaling flagman or a stop sign.
- Never drive around a lowering gate or ignore signals.
- After a train passes, wait for gates to fully rise and for all lights to stop flashing before your cross.
- Never assume that there is only one train coming from a single direction.
- If your car stalls on a track, quickly get everyone out — even if you don’t see a train coming. Run away from the tracks and your car to avoid being hit by flying debris. Call the number on the blue emergency notification system sign. If the sign is not visible to you, call 911.
Rules vary when it comes to transit train crossings. This is because these light or passenger train crossings can be located in several different areas, including intersections and public and private driveways.
- When a transit train operates in mixed traffic, where the roadway is shared with all types of road users, the trains do not have the right-of-way over other roadway users at crossings and intersections. Instead, they are usually controlled with the same devices used by general traffic.
- If a light or passenger train operates within a separate traveled way, or along a street or railroad where vehicles have limited access, and cross at designated grade crossing locations only, the light rail vehicles usually have the right-of-way over other roadway users.
- Vehicles and other traffic are prohibited from light or passenger train crossings when a crossing is separated by something like a bridge or underpass, or protected by a fence or traffic barrier, and there are no traffic control devices.
Always Expect a Train
Source: Workplace Safety North Hazard Alert: Collision at unprotected railway crossing Hazard Alert: Collision on unprotected railway crossing – Download and share What happened? A haul truck leaving the mill yard was hit by oncoming train. The driver was not injured but there was extensive damage to truck.
A haul truck driving over railway tracks was hit by oncoming train and its trailer was dragged more than 50 metres down the track. The driver was not injured and said they did not see the train when they approached the crossing. There was extensive damage to the truck.
How could the incident have been prevented? Regular road maintenance near railway crossings can help ensure drivers are alert and aware of the hazards. This will help reduce near misses and incidents at railway crossings. Active logging and hauling on forestry access roads require regular road maintenance that includes proper grading, dust control, sanding, roadside vegetation control and proper signage.
Travelling on forest access roads and mill yards with unprotected railway crossings requires attentive driving and a proactive roads and yards management plan. Contact your WSN Health and Safety Specialist for more information. Tips for safe railway crossings Communicate often and have regular safety talks to keep drivers alert about railway crossing
Be alert, slow down and expect to encounter a train at every crossing Related Hazard Alert: Head-on collision on single lane bridge Industry experts analyze causes of distracted driving on the job Northern Ontario forest agency adopts BC-legislated road sign program
Tractor trailer dragged more than 50 metres after being struck by train.
Tips for safe winter driving on logging roads
Implementing a safe driving program in your workplace - free information package
Safe Workplace Ontario – third-party health and safety designation program for Ontario businesses
Leading practices for traffic management
Training
Safe Driving on Forest Roads (In-person)
Safe Driving on Forest Roads (E-learning)
Safe Driving on Forest Roads Recreation Workshop (E-learning) – for snowmobiler or ATV clubs
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* Re “Driver Dies After Train Hits Car at Private Crossing,” Sept. 13.
Your article about the Oxnard man killed at an unprotected railroad crossing has a tragic and all-too-familiar ending. How many people have to die before the railroads will take responsibility for the safety of their crossings?
Typically, the railroad blames the landowner, the motorist, the town or the county for the lack of crossing gates and lights. But the bottom line is that it is their tracks and their trains and so it should be their responsibility!
Nationwide, more than 80% of all railroad crossings are not protected by lights and gates. RailWatch believes it should be the railroads’ responsibility to install adequate crossing guards at those crossings. We must hold the railroads accountable for the safety of their crossings and their operations.
SHERRY KIESLING FOX
Executive Director, RailWatch
Houston, Texas
You’ve probably faced this situation before: You’re already late for your next appointment when you approach a pair of white gates lowering over a set of train tracks. The warning bells are ringing. The red lights are flashing. And now, you’re stuck. You look around to see if there’s a train coming. You don’t hear or see anything else.
So, what do you do?
Trying to beat the train in this situation—or at any point in time when railroad crossing gates are lowered—is a dangerous and deadly game to play.
There is a collision between a train and a person or a vehicle every 3 hours in the U.S. And according to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were more than 2,000 train-and-car collisions in 2017, which resulted in 272 deaths and 833 injuries. A motorist is almost 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a collision involving another motor vehicle.
So why do drivers attempt to drive around lowered railroad crossing signs and gates?
“We really don’t know why drivers sometimes make unsafe choices at railroad crossings,” said Wende Corcoran, Interim President of Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit organization that educates the public on railroads crossings and safety. “We know today’s drivers have a lot more distractions than they ever have before when they are behind the wheel.”
3 Safety Tips for Approaching Railroad Crossings
1. Don’t try to beat a train. You may see a train approaching and think it’s further away than it is and a train cannot stop quickly.
“Even if a locomotive engineer or a conductor sees [the car], a train moving at 55 mph can take a mile or more to stop once that emergency brake is on,” Corcoran said. To put that in perspective, a mile is about the length of 18 football fields. And this inability to stop immediately is why you see cars in train collisions pushed far down a track.
2. Don’t cross a lowered gate, even if it’s faulty. If there’s an emergency or problem at a railway crossing, call for help. Look for the Emergency Notification System (ENS) sign which should be right by the railroad crossing. (Image source: USDOT FRA.)
The ENS sign is blue and white and has the railroad’s emergency number, the name of the railroad owner, and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) National Crossing Inventory Number. This number indicates the exact location of the crossing.
When you call, you’ll talk to a railroad official who can address the problem or emergency, such as getting your car stuck on the track. In such a case, you’ll want to get yourself and your passengers out of the car and call the emergency number at a safe location.
If you can’t find an ENS sign, call 9-1-1.
3. Always approach with caution. Trains don’t always run on schedule, especially freight trains. They run at all times of the day and night. “When you see tracks, think train,” Corcoran said, emphasizing how important it is for drivers to approach railroad crossings with caution. Whether or not there’s a signal, stop at the railroad crossing to look both ways before proceeding (quickly) over the tracks without stopping.
Operation Lifesaver has more driving safety tips that will help you be more aware of your surroundings at a railroad crossing and prevent a collision with a train.