|
|
|
Facts - Books - News U.S. Facts Of Law: |
RailRoad Crossing
Accidents
|
Car accidents fall into several major categories (whose names are self-explanatory):
* Rear-end collisions
* Rollover accidents
* Head-on collisions
* Single-car accidents
*
Pile-up accidents
* RailRoad crossing accidents
The term railroad crossing (also called:
level crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level (or "at grade") - without recourse to a bridge or tunnel - used to describe the crossing of a railway line by a road, path, or other railroad.
When a vehicle on the road is hit by a train at this
juncture it is a railroad crossing
accident.
It also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way (or a reserved track tramway) crosses a road; the term "metro" usually means by definition that there are no level crossings (i.e. that the system is grade-separated).
About RailRoad Crossings
In the United States, and in countries following US practices, a train must have a bright headlight, and a whistle or horn must be sounded as the train approaches the crossing. Some American cities, citing noise pollution abatement, have passed laws prohibiting the sounding of bells and whistles, however their ability to enforce such rules is debatable. In December of 2003, The US Federal Railroad Administration published regulations that would create areas where train horns could be silenced, provided that certain safety measures were put in place. More information can be found at the FRA website at and following the page link under 'Train horn rule.' The regulations were scheduled to go into effect in December 2004.
All crossings in the United States are required to be marked by at least a
crossbuck. Most crossings that intersect rural roads have this setup. As traffic on the road crossing or the rail crossing increases, safety features are ramped up accordingly. More densely populated crossings have alternately flashing red lights to warn motorists, and a bell to warn pedestrians. Additional safety is attained through gates that block motorists approach to the tracks when activated. Increasingly, crossings are being fitted with so-called four-quadrant gates, with a gate mechanism on either side of the tracks for each direction of automotive traffic. The exit gates blocking the road leading away from the tracks in this application are equipped with a delay, and begin their descent to their horizontal position several seconds after the entrance gates do, so as to avoid trapping highway vehicles on the crossing. Four-quadrant gates prevent vehicles from driving around lowered gates to try to beat a train.
A track that will run high-speed trains in excess of 120 mph (193 km/h) is being tested in Illinois between Chicago and Saint Louis. Here, due to the high speed of the trains, gates that totally prevent road traffic from reaching the tracks are mandatory on all level crossings, and steel mesh nets are being tested on the busier crossings to further prevent
railroad crossing accidents. |
|
|
|
Railroad Crossing Accidents News
GN News
• APNewsBreak: Calif. Rail Crash Is Systemaposs Worst San Jose Mercury News
News10.netAPNewsBreak: Calif. rail crash is system39s worstSan Jose Mercury NewsThe collision between a Sacramento commuter train and an SUV that killed three people over the weekend is the worst rail crossing accident in the 25 year history of the capital city39s light rail district, a system executive said Monday, adding that the Man IDs family members killed in SUV train crashSacramento BeeDriver in light rail crash pulled past another carNews10.netSUV, Light Rail Train Collide in Sacramento 3 DeadJustice News FlashKTXLall 684 news articles raquo
• Rob Phillips: Closing Train Crossings Bad For East Side Area Wisconsin State...
Rob Phillips: Closing train crossings bad for East Side areaWisconsin State JournalChris Rickert39s Tuesday column, quotRailroad and city must give and take,quot makes good points about the value of biking, saving public money and compromise. But on the specific issue of closing three East Side railroad crossings, he misses the mark.
• Railroad Warns About Train Dangers KSAT San Antonio
Railroad warns about train dangersKSAT San AntonioThe hope is that those citations will help spread the word about what to drivers should do when coming to a railroad crossing. In one such event recently, the railroad met with police at Time Warner Cable Park to watch crossings along Wetmore Road.and more raquo
• Girl Dies In Rail Crossing Accident Bourne Local
Sky NewsGirl dies in rail crossing accidentBourne LocalA teenage girl died after being hit by a train at a Hertfordshire foot crossing in what is thought to have been a quottragic accidentquot, police said. The 15 year old, who has not been named, died after she was struck at Johnson39s Footpath Crossing in Girl39s Death At Rail Crossing Was 39Accident39Sky NewsTeenager killed on rail crossing 39was listening to music on headphones39Mirror.co.ukSchoolgirl, 15, dies after being hit by train in 39tragic accident39 at level Daily MailMetro Evening Standard The Press Associationall 322 news articles raquo
• 3 Die In Assam Train Crash Calcutta Telegraph
Gulf Times3 die in Assam train crashCalcutta Telegraph3: A driver trying to take his excavator across an unmanned railway crossing gate at Hatigor Bongara, close to Guwahati airport, today led to a train crash that left at least three dead and more than 50 people injured. While five bogies of the Chilarai Three killed in train vehicle collision at unmanned railway crossing in AssamTehelkaTrain accident in assam kills 3The Asian AgeThree killed as train hits earthmoverTimes of IndiaGulf Times BBC Newsall 83 news articles raquo
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The information provided by FactsOfLaw.com does not
constitute legal advice or any other type of advice and is
provided for educational purposes only without
warranty of any kind. FactsOfLaw.com has not
reviewed the information on this page for accuracy
and is not responsible for any errors, omissions or
inaccuracies. For legal advice you should
consult a licensed attorney. Source: wikipedia.org
|
|
|
