That will wake you up quick. Nothing like coming face to face with a locomotive and that knuckle coming through your door. Glad she wasn't hurt!
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| Posted by FSWood on April 24, 2017 | |
Hmm. Even though track is gone down by creek Google street view shows a yellow RR crossing sign with exempt sign below it on pole down by 1017 N B Street heading toward creek and this location. And the gates and signals which remain by street bridge with track gone have an exempt sign below crossbuck. Still approaching this intersection from the creek side; pole before this corner has blue hospital sign, then pole at corner (which here has crossbucks visible above light hued Jeep something on rhea St) has white 'Exempt" sign like back down the road, though RR crossing sign is gone.
No such remnants are visible now on side where she approached from the Black Street direction.
But those aren't relevant to this and don't apply to her, since they mean busses and hazardous material transports are exempt from having to stop every time at that crossing whether a train is visible or not.
And they certainly wouldn't mean she's exempt from paying attention!
The 2017 speed limit along there seems to be 35mph and there is good visibility of that spur out to 200 feet either direction. As soon as she came through T intersection with Black Street it looks like active effort would have to be applied to not see train in spur there. And that train certainly didn't come flying out of there at catapult launching velocity.
Yep, looks like a shortfall in situational awareness is the cause. Yes ma'am, those RR crossing Exempt signs do not mean you are exempt from paying attention.
I think this relates to how car driving can become such a daily habitual activity that a person often forgets they frequently need to pay attention to everything all the time because so many moving objects can approach from so many directions.
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All the tracks were removed from this location and the entire Belt Line leading to it starting in September of 2012. They weren't exempt at the time of this accident. Some of the crossing markers are still up, but this crossing and the one north of it have been paved over.
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I wonder if a phone was involved?
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When there are no signals shouldn't there be a flagger to stop traffic? The car had the right of way if no signals.
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| Posted by xBNSFer on April 25, 2017 | |
No the car doesn't have the right of way if there are no "signals." You are required to stop at a railroad crossing if a train is approaching. If you think trains have to wait for you when there aren't any "signals," you're a good candidate to get yourself killed on some rural road or private drive with a railroad crossing protected by just crossbucks.
Here's a fine example of a crossing "without signals:"
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/543434/
Try your luck at that one and see if the trains stop for you because they didn't "flag" the crossing first! Operation Lifesaver course for you!
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| Posted by FSWood on April 25, 2017 | |
I figured they were put up because there's no track so there is fer sure not going to be a train (unless the Heart of Gold kicks in the Infinite Improbability Drive) but I still wanted to use the idea as a lead in to that when driving one is never exempt from paying attention.
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We never flagged that crossing. Lots of bell and horn and according to the police, we had the right of way.
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| Posted by xBNSFer on April 29, 2017 | |
Nor were you required to flag the crossing. It is the motorist's obligation to yield to trains at any railroad crossing, whether it has "active" signals or not. Trains always have the right of way at grade crossings. A naked "crossbuck" is the equivalent of a YIELD sign. Motorists are required to yield to trains.
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I should correct myself slightly. We DID flag if we were shoving cars in to the plant, but coming out engine first, we never did.
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