Ohio
Rail Crashes Drop; Activists Aren't Satisfied
The Repository
September 23, 2000
By: G. Patrick Kelley, Repository West Bureau
Rail crossing crashes are at a 22-year low in Ohio, but the
state still ranks in the national top six in both fatalities
and number of accidents. The Public Utilities Commission
of Ohio says the 127 crashes in 1999 killed 19 and injured
45 people. "In the last five years, we have reduced
crashes, fatalities and injuries by 40 percent," said
PUCO Chairman Alan Schriber. "In the last 10 years,
Ohio has gone from having the second-highest number of
crashes and fatalities in the country to being ranked sixth
in the nation for accidents and fifth for fatalities. "However,
no one believes our work to reduce grade-crossing crashes
is done," Schriber said.
Local crossing-safety activist Vicky Moore would be the
first to agree with him. Moore said she's glad the statistics
show declining numbers, but Ohio's record still isn't very
good. "I
don't think that's anything to brag about, she said. "People
are still dying at dangerous rail crossings in the state of
Ohio."
Moore and her husband, Dennis, lost their son, Ryan, in a March
1995 train-car accident on Deerfield Avenue NW In Lawrence
Township. Two other teen-agers also died when a train struck
their car. The Moores won a judgment against the railroad and
are using the money to improve Ohio's rail crossings and make
the public aware of rail-crossing safety through their Angels
on Track Foundation.
The state's statistics can be misleading, she said, especially
in the way they're presented. In Its "Ohio Grade Crossing
Statistics Report for 1999," PUCO said 43 percent of all
fatal crashes in 1999 occurred at crossings that had active
warning devices (gates or lights). That's putting a positive
spin on the fact that 57 percent of the fatalities occurred
at crossings that didn't have active warnings, she said. "They
chose to say it the other way," and ignored traffic counts,
which are probably higher at crossings with active warnings,
she said. "Are they saying warning devices don't save
lives?"
Even the state's figures don't always agree with each other.
In addition to citing the 43-percent figure for fatalities,
a press release also said 38 percent of fatal crashes occurred
at crossings that had active warning devices. Commission spokesmen
did not return a telephone call Friday afternoon. Moore said
Angels on Track plans to keep its own statistics. "We're
not using the state's information anymore," she said. "We're
developing our own database." Schriber said PUCO is "focusing
on improving Ohio's grade crossings. However, we cannot urge
people enough to heed the warnings at the crossings."
There are 6,300 rail crossings in Ohio, Moore said. Half of
them have crossbuck warnings, not active signals. "Crossbucks
signs only lower a driver's expectation of a train, she said.
PUCO seems to point at driver error as the cause of accidents. "Are
they prepared to say every crash was caused by driver error?"
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