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Re: Meahwhile, don't run the gates... And, smile, you're on candid camera... Yes, you are right , and no, I don't expect behavior to miraculously get any better than the range of behavior I've actually observed....
Author: BOB2
Date: 01-23-2024 - 08:45
curious Wrote:
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> Most comments center around the obvious, obeying
> the law and never driving around down gates. "End
> of subject". However most commenters probably
> don't live near active rail crossings and deal
> with them daily. Sometimes gates stay down long
> after a train has passed. On single track lines
> it's not uncommon to run around downed gates
> gates if the train has passed and no train is in
> sight. Motorist living near active gates sometimes
> see gates stuck in the down position and drive
> around them as well. Motorists dealing with daily
> "crossing the tracks" become jade to the dangers
> of rail crossings. Have you ever been late for an
> appointment? Its been noted that since Covid
> accidents are up ,speeding violations are up and
> fatalities are up.
Folks should follow the rules, they do save lives. But for a whole variety of reasoning, some seemingly even fairly sensible, and some just plain damned foolish, lot's of folks don't follow all of the rules, at least some of the time... We all are likely guilty of that and have even survived when the risks are low, or the rule is just plain foolish, too...
You are absolutely correct about experiential complacency. A major cause of many human failure transportation accidents, in this case the experiential complacency of the driver.
It is a very common situation where there are significant rail speed differences and approach times to crossings. The longer the approach time the more likely folks are going to be to run the gates. The calculation is do I wait for two minutes for the two mile coal train to reach the empty crossing, and then wait another 15 minutes while it climbs the grade at 12 miles per hour, or do I run the gate, and get to work on time. The 90 mph. passenger train coming the other way on the second main is hidden and they die....
And, this was a problem long before higher speed passenger trains, at places just like Doran Street in Glendale (which is finally getting a grade separation). During the time I was a SP there were numerous lower speed accidents there, with relatively fewer deaths (we hit one with the switcher there one night running the gates on the Glendale Switcher), from a lot of slower freight trains, and lots more local switching activities. Now, there are more fatal accidents due to higher speed and more frequent passenger services. Folks used to switching movements lowering the gates, or in the middle of Wyoming, seeing it is another damned two or three mile long "PSR" train, crawling up the grade, would be very likely to just scoot around the gates.
The solution, used in a few places, are differential train speed timing circuits, which can distinguish things like train approach speeds, and adjust the timing of the gates to prevent unnecessary down time. Hence, on some systems there are gates, which can determine approach speed, and lower the gates quickly for a high speed train approaching, but can hold the gates until a slower approaching iron ore train is approaching the crossing. The use of the doppler effect to determine if a signal eminating from an the train is approaching more quickly or more slowly and adjust the timing.
We are seeing a lot of rethinking on rail safety issues as happened in the 90's with pedestrian safety, applying better data and knowledge about accident causes, effective safety strategies, and new technologies. I suspect we will likely see a tightening of "quiet zone" engineering and operational requirments as a result of the NTSB's investigations, and our actual experience with the successes and failures that have been encountered in their applications.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Most comments center around the obvious, obeying
> the law and never driving around down gates. "End
> of subject". However most commenters probably
> don't live near active rail crossings and deal
> with them daily. Sometimes gates stay down long
> after a train has passed. On single track lines
> it's not uncommon to run around downed gates
> gates if the train has passed and no train is in
> sight. Motorist living near active gates sometimes
> see gates stuck in the down position and drive
> around them as well. Motorists dealing with daily
> "crossing the tracks" become jade to the dangers
> of rail crossings. Have you ever been late for an
> appointment? Its been noted that since Covid
> accidents are up ,speeding violations are up and
> fatalities are up.
Folks should follow the rules, they do save lives. But for a whole variety of reasoning, some seemingly even fairly sensible, and some just plain damned foolish, lot's of folks don't follow all of the rules, at least some of the time... We all are likely guilty of that and have even survived when the risks are low, or the rule is just plain foolish, too...
You are absolutely correct about experiential complacency. A major cause of many human failure transportation accidents, in this case the experiential complacency of the driver.
It is a very common situation where there are significant rail speed differences and approach times to crossings. The longer the approach time the more likely folks are going to be to run the gates. The calculation is do I wait for two minutes for the two mile coal train to reach the empty crossing, and then wait another 15 minutes while it climbs the grade at 12 miles per hour, or do I run the gate, and get to work on time. The 90 mph. passenger train coming the other way on the second main is hidden and they die....
And, this was a problem long before higher speed passenger trains, at places just like Doran Street in Glendale (which is finally getting a grade separation). During the time I was a SP there were numerous lower speed accidents there, with relatively fewer deaths (we hit one with the switcher there one night running the gates on the Glendale Switcher), from a lot of slower freight trains, and lots more local switching activities. Now, there are more fatal accidents due to higher speed and more frequent passenger services. Folks used to switching movements lowering the gates, or in the middle of Wyoming, seeing it is another damned two or three mile long "PSR" train, crawling up the grade, would be very likely to just scoot around the gates.
The solution, used in a few places, are differential train speed timing circuits, which can distinguish things like train approach speeds, and adjust the timing of the gates to prevent unnecessary down time. Hence, on some systems there are gates, which can determine approach speed, and lower the gates quickly for a high speed train approaching, but can hold the gates until a slower approaching iron ore train is approaching the crossing. The use of the doppler effect to determine if a signal eminating from an the train is approaching more quickly or more slowly and adjust the timing.
We are seeing a lot of rethinking on rail safety issues as happened in the 90's with pedestrian safety, applying better data and knowledge about accident causes, effective safety strategies, and new technologies. I suspect we will likely see a tightening of "quiet zone" engineering and operational requirments as a result of the NTSB's investigations, and our actual experience with the successes and failures that have been encountered in their applications.
