Dangers of Train
Crossings Stressed
The
Alliance Review
September 6th, 2008
By LAURIE HUFFMAN
Every Sept. 8, Ohioans are asked to remember the dangers of
crossing railroad tracks " something Dennis and Vicky
Moore, trustees and founders of The Angels on Track Foundation,
live with every day.
The couple's son was hit and killed while crossing railroad
tracks in his vehicle in 1995, spurring the two to start the
foundation in an effort to try to install gates at as many
dangerous crossing locations in Ohio as possible.
"Most crossings in Ohio are not gated," Vicky Moore
informed. "That's what caused my son's death in 1995.
He did everything he was supposed to and followed all the laws
he was supposed to and he was still hit by a train."
Moore said most crossing sites in Ohio do not offer a clear
view due to hills, curving tracks and vegetation. Local governments
cannot afford to gate them all and the Public Utilities Commission
states it improves about 100 dangerous crossings per year,
she said
.
"Our focus is not on the drivers, who the railroad companies
would like us to believe are at fault," she added. "They
focus on the driver's behavior because they don't want to gate
the crossings. That's because if any of them are not functioning,
they will then be liable."
Another problem exists in the way vehicle-train accidents are
investigated. It is the Federal Railroad Administration's policy
to investigate only those rare accidents involving at least
five people or the death of a railroad employee. The accident
reports are filled out by the railroads, who overwhelmingly
blame motorists for the accidents and then provide the administration
with 87 to 94 percent of its figures, according to the Moores.
Police reports are often incomplete and do not have the depth
of full investigations.
"It is unfathomable the FRA could concentrate on the "best'
ways of preventing grade crossing collisions without an extensive
record of accident investigations ... The end result is that
FRA accident investigations have had little, or no, positive
impact on the declining casualty rate over the past 30 years
and thus has been of minor impact," Vicky Moore stated.
In spite of continuous gate installations funded by federal
and state money, only 26 percent of our nation's 145,800 public
crossings and just a handful of the 94,200 private crossings
are equipped with gates, the Moores indicated.
The Moores indicated through the hard work of state Sen. Scott
Oelslaeger, the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives unanimously
approved a resolution to address the fact that Ohio has approximately
6,200 public railroad crossings, of which almost half are marked
with only crossbuck signs. It acknowledges the combination
of lights and automatic gates has proven to be 90 percent effective
in preventing collisions between trains and vehicles, although
only an estimated 20 percent of railroad crossings in the U.S.
are protected with gates.
The couple believes it is meaningful to set aside Sept. 8 each
year to raise awareness and to recognize the importance of
railroad crossing safety, especially since Ohio ranks in the
top 10 states each year for train-car accidents and fatalities
and even responsible drivers are faced with dangers while crossing
railroad tracks. This is, in their opinion, all the more reason
for our local county and state officials to make sure all railroad
crossings are clear of sight obstructions and protected with
gates.
The Moores have taken it upon themselves in the meantime to
make a significant difference through the Angels on Track Foundation
they created. Funds are raised through the foundation to install
gates at crossings each year, with four improvements made recently
in Stark County alone. These include railroad crossings at
Fohl Road in Canton Township, Easton Street in North Canton,
Martindale in Plain Township, Nimishillen Church and Middlebranch
in Lake Township and at 40 Corners in Massillon.
Another function the foundation serves is to allow the public
a vehicle through which to make donations and to report unsafe
railroad crossings themselves. By e-mailing infor@angelsontrack.org
and clicking on the Call to Action link, individuals can fill
out a Dangerous Crossing Report. These e-mails are then sent
automatically to the Ohio Rail Development Commission, to Angels
on Track and to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The Moores have also used the foundation to install signs across
Stark County stating "Bad Crossings Kill Good Drivers."
Each year, the Senate Concurrent Resolution 039 is passed again,
as was the case in 2008. The resolution calls for Sept. 8 to
be called Railroad Crossing Safety Awareness Day and the Moores
encourage all Ohioans to be aware of the dangers and to report
any unsafe crossings to Angels on Track.
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