Railroad
Safety Task Forces Work for Crossing Upgrades
The
Alliance Review
March, 1999
by: Susan Shea
Vicky Moore is right
on track. But she says, about this time four years ago, that
wasn't the case. On March 25, 1995, Moore's son, Ryan, along
with two of the six other boys in the car with him, lost
their lives as they crossed a track and were struck by a
freight train.
Moore at first withdrew,
and grieved the horrific grief of one caught by surprise
of devastating loss.
Once able to work
again, she returned to her job as director of the senior
citizens center in Canal Fulton. She and her husband, Dennis,
went about the long process of receiving compensation from
the railroad for her son's death.
Since receiving
the settlement, the couple have formed The Angels on Track
Foundation. Moore now works to support this organization
as her full-time job, because she wants to do it in memory
of her son, and because it gives her a chance to save others.
The organization's
purpose is to promote safety at railroad grade crossings
throughout the state of Ohio.
Moore wants those
from this side of the county, meaning Alliance and the surrounding
area, to know that the Stark County Railroad Safety Task
Forces, with interested individuals from the community who
care about railroad safety, will meet again Wendesday at
7pm at the Stark County Regional Planning Commission, 201
3rd Street, NE in Canton. The task force is working with
The Angels on Track Foundation to upgrade railroad crossings
in Stark County.
"We don't have
representation from many of the townships out near Alliance," she
said. "Or many people who live out that way. We're always
looking for input and for members who will work with us to
get these rail crossings upgraded."
Moore said that
the process of obtaining lights and gates is arduous and
intricate, often resulting in a community knowing very well
that a crossing is extremely dangerous, yet having officials
in the community wait until a particular crossing may be
high enough on a list of priorities to receive federal money
to install the safety devices.
In the meantime,
cars holding sons like Ryan, grandfathers, sisters and mothers
cross the tracks. And some don't make it.
"I think now
the driving force that keeps me going is anger," said
Moore. "Knowing how the system works. Knowing that it
sometimes takes two or three years before anything is done
to improve a crossing. And worst, knowing that usually it
takes a death for someone to see how dangerous a crossing
it is."
Moore said that
she feels railroads are not forced to accept their responsibility
for public safety. She feels that people are constantly told
that it's "their" fault when a car and train meet,
but she wants to ensure that all necessary warning devices
are in place and operational.
"Every time
there's a death someone makes the excuse that it's the person
who was hit who is at fault. It doesn't matter if it's a
teen-ager, a middle-aged person, or an elderly person. No
one ever says that the crossing should've been improved."
Those interested
in finding out more may attend tomorrow evenings meeting,
or any monthly meeting, held the second Wednesday of every
month. Interested persons may also access a website for The
Angels on Track Foundation at www.angelsontrack.org.
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