FOUNDATION
TRACKS DOWN DANGEROUS RAILROAD CROSSINGS
The Tribune
3/23/01
By: Barbara Vendeville
Kent - Vicky
Moore, founder and trustee of The Angels on Track Foundation,
spoke in front of an audience of l, 000 Kent State University
students and faculty members at an annual college fundraiser
called Songfest.
Her foundation would
benefit in the more than $5,000 proceeds raised that evening
by the 22 Greek sorority and fraternity chapters at KSU.
On Saturday, March
25, 1995, Vicky and Dennis Moore's son Ryan, his brother
and four of their friends were riding in a car, which was
hit by a Conrail freight train traveling approximately 60
mph. Three survived despite serious injuries, but three others
including Ryan Moore were killed instantly.
The crossing did
not have a gate or flashing lights.
Moore stated that
Deerfield Avenue, located on the Stark/Wayne border had been
the scene of eight deaths in seven collisions since 1975.
"Our son, Ryan,
was killed at an unprotected railroad crossing, crossbuck
only. Had there been gates and lights there that day the
accident would never had happened," said Moore.
"Currently
Ohio has 80 counties with active rail lines. Only half of
Ohio's railroad grade crossings have gates and lights, meaning
approximately 3,000 are marked by a cross buck only, which
is only an informational sign·it only tells you a
crossing is ahead it doesn't tell you a train is coming or
protect you." said Moore.
As a result of their
son's death, Vicky and Dennis Moore established The Angels
on Track Foundation with monies awarded to them as a result
of a civil trial.
The Moores established
the foundation after realizing the lack of funding and red
tape local communities faced trying to upgrade railroad grade
crossings with safety equipment. They used the money to correct
the problem; they feel contributed to the death of their
son.
The foundation is
hoping to make a difference by providing the financial backing
needed to improve railroad-crossing safety throughout Ohio
and to educate local highway authorities on the various programs
available through state and federal funding.
"Counties and
local highway authorities do not consider railroad grade
crossing safety a priority until someone is killed or injured," Moore
said. "They do not budget funds for safety upgrades
and usually wait for the state, using the Federal Funded
Program, to come in and erect safety devices where there
is no local match and 100 percent of the cost is covered
with federal tax dollars and contributions from the railroads."
"Contributions
are then reimbursed to the railroad companies. Each state
is required to have a prioritization listing of all grade
crossings to receive federal money for grade crossing upgrades.
There is an accident formula which is used: number of trains,
speed of trains, vehicle traffic counts, number of tracks
and how many people have been killed or injured."
Moore said that
was the method used to upgrade the crossing where her son
was killed, with gates and lights under the Federal Funded
Program.
"Even though
eight people lost their lives at that crossing in a period
of seven years, four of those in a period of three months.
January, 1995-one man killed; March 17, 1995-two people ran
into the side of the train and March 25, 1995-my son and
two of his friends were killed, gates and lights were installed
eight months after our accident and one year after the Public
Utilities Commission of Ohio order,"
she said.
"In
Ohio, after the PUCO issues an order to the railroad company
to install safety devices, it takes one year before completion.
Senator Mike DeWine passed a law reducing the time for
installation in Ohio. In other states it can take as long
as two to three years."
The foundation goal
is to set up county task forces, which would work with The
Angels on Track Foundation in all 88 counties of Ohio. Currently
there are 20 established in the state.
"A lot of what
our foundation is trying to do is educate the public on railroad
safety issues, in particular, existing hazards at unprotected
crossings, and what factors, besides driver's error, cause
these preventable accidents. Our government officials responsible
for public safety at railroad grade crossings have been complacent,
even though every 90 minutes there is a train-on-motor accident/incident
in the United States," said Moore.
"We
wanted to do something about it. Most are depending on
the state to identify and fund dangerous crossings. That
is why we started the task forces."
The purpose of the
county task forces would be to identify and prioritize all
crossings for possible upgrades, thus qualifying for reimbursement
grants from the foundation to subsidize the construction
costs on installing gates and flashing lights up to 30 percent
of the local match not to exceed $40,000 for each project,
for five upgrades each calendar year.
The average cost
for installation of gates and lights at a grade crossing
is estimated to be $90,000 to $200,000.
Last year, Moore
met with Lake County Commissioners and other local officials
to convince them of the need for a task force in Lake County.
Moore said that
in order for a county to receive a reimbursement grant from
the foundation, the county has to establish a task force.
"This also
gives local communities and county the ability to upgrade
a dangerous crossing before someone is killed or injured
instead of waiting for the state to come in and upgrade it
after it has reached the "accident formula" guidelines.
Which means many people die first," said Moore.
For more information
on railroad crossing safety or to send donations visit The
Angels on Track Foundation website: info@angelsontrack.org
or write 12376 Chestnut Street, N.W., Canal Fulton, Ohio
44614.
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