Six people die every day in this country in a railroad crossing accident.
The complexity of train tracks and the volume of rail traffic in our part of the country is obvious when looking at the spider webs covering maps of Indiana railroads and Illinois rail systems. Railroads are an important part of our communities, serving both passengers and freight.
Railroads Operating in Indiana and Illinois
This means there is a lot of rail traffic in our part of the country. There are also an unacceptably high number of train accidents.
Illinois
Today, the Illinois Department of Transportation reports there are 41 railroads operating in Illinois, making the state “…the center of the nation’s rail network.” Over 10,000 miles of track create the Illinois railway system.
Indiana
Meanwhile, Indiana rails move train traffic for the majority of the Class I railroads operating in the United States, as well as smaller rail companies providing freight and passenger services. In-DOT reports that Indiana has more grade public highway-rail crossings than all but four other states, and that “…[v]irtually all rail freight coming from the east coast bound for Chicago must pass through the Northwest Indiana rail corridor.”
This year, both Indiana and Illinois are among around a dozen states that are the focus of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regarding rail safety and the danger of railroad crossing fatalities. A public awareness campaign called “Stop. Trains Can’t” is taking place during April and May.
Unacceptably High Risk of Death in Railroad Crossing Accidents
Why the concern over train crashes in our part of the country? It is because there are so many of these fatal railroad accidents. Consider the following:
Every four hours in America, a person or vehicle is struck by a train at a rail crossing.
The number of deaths in accidents where drivers went around lowered crossing gate arms reached a ten-year high in 2018.
From Ronald L. Batory, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration:
“Rail safety isn’t just about the safe movement of passenger and freight trains; it’s also about helping the American public be safe near railroad tracks.”
Indiana and Illinois Lead the Nation in Train Crossing Accidents
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, California had more fatal train crashes involving motor vehicles in highway-rail grade crossing accidents than any other state in the country.
- Close behind in the statistics were Illinois (second) and Indiana (third).
- Non-fatal rail crossing accidents in 2018 found Indiana to rank third in the country (following Texas and California) with Illinois ranking fifth.
The danger of being seriously injured or killed in a train crash at a rail crossing is higher in Indiana and Illinois than almost anywhere else in the country today.
The Danger of Fatal Train Accidents at Rail Crossings
The high risk in these rail accidents comes from trains colliding with cars, sedans, pickups, SUVs, and other motor vehicles as the tracks cross roadways, in what is called a “rail crossing accident.”
Of course, there are various reasons for traffic fatalities on our roadways, from rear-end collisions, to distracted driving, to speeding.
However, motor vehicle accidents involving trains are different from other kinds of crashes. They offer distinct issues to be addressed from a safety perspective:
- Trains Cannot Deviate From Their Path
For one thing, the train must move along an established path, the train track. It cannot turn to avoid an accident.
- Trains are Huge in Comparison to Motor Vehicles
Another unique factor here is the train itself as a vehicle: these are huge machines, made bigger in size and weight the more freight and/or cars are being carried behind the engine.
- Trains Cannot Come to a Stop Quickly
Trains have trouble stopping, too. NHTSA describes a train moving at 55 mph as needing almost a mile of track in order to come to a stop. This is true even if the engineer has hit the emergency brakes.
Many rail crossing fatalities happen because the driver is unaware until it is too late that a train is bearing down upon them as they cross the tracks. However, IN-DOT statistics warn that over 50% of all railroad crossing accidents happen where the crossing has operating barrier gates and flashing lights.
All too often, drivers are accused of attempting to scoot past the rail crossing gate despite the warning lights, fatally underestimating their ability to move out of the train’s path before impact.
How Deadly Are These Types of Accidents?
As described by Operation Lifesaver, “when a train hits a car it is like a car hitting a pop can – it’s no contest.” This safety group also warns that:
- A motorist is almost 20 times more likely to die in a train crash than in an accident with another motor vehicle.
- 75% of train crashes happen within 25 miles of the driver’s home.
- 50% of train crashes happen within 5 miles from home.
State Efforts to Increase Rail Crossing Safety in Indiana and Illinois
Both Illinois and Indiana recognize the problem of rail crossing fatalities and have begun efforts to try and make our railways safer from rail crossing accidents.
Today, the State of Indiana is implementing its Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Action Plan, where Indiana is working to:
- Reduce the number of public grade crossings
- Encourage grade separations where possible to bridge over or under busy rail lines
- Accelerate education and enforcement statewide
- Improve passive warning devices to the latest standards
- Upgrade active warning devices at crossings exhibiting the greatest need
- Focus attention on grade crossings with a recent history of multiple collisions.
The Illinois Commerce Commission is responsible for increasing rail crossing safety in Illinois. Its efforts include:
- Warning Device Upgrades: Installation of automatic flashing light signals and gates at public grade crossings currently not equipped with automatic warning devices; installation of automatic flashing light signals and gates at public grade crossings currently equipped only with automatic flashing light signals; signal circuitry improvements at public grade crossings currently equipped only with automatic warning devices;
- Grade Separations – New and Reconstructed: Construction, reconstruction, or repair of bridges carrying a local road or street over railroad tracks (overpass); construction, reconstruction, or repair of bridges carrying railroad tracks over a local road or street (subway);
- Grade Separations – Vertical Clearance Improvements: Lowering the existing highway pavement surface under a railroad bridge to improve vertical clearance for motor vehicles;
- Pedestrian Grade Separations: Construction of a bridge to carry pedestrian/bicycle traffic over or under railroad tracks;
- Interconnects: Upgrading the circuitry at grade crossings where warning signals are connected to the adjacent traffic signals so that the two systems operate in a synchronized manner;
- Highway Approaches: Improvements to the portion of the public roadway directly adjacent to the crossing surface;
- Connecting Roads: Construction of a roadway between a closed crossing and an adjacent open, improved crossing; and
- Remote Monitoring Devices: Sensor devices in the circuitry of grade crossing warning devices which immediately alert the railroad to any failures in warning device operations
- Low Cost Improvements at Unsignalized Crossings: Installation of new, more reflective crossbuck warning signs and YIELD signs at crossings that do not require automatic warning devices.
- Crossing Closures: Provide an incentive payment to local agencies for the voluntarily closure of public highway-rail grade crossings.
Justice after Serious or Fatal Train Crashes in Indiana or Illinois
After a severe or deadly train accident at a rail crossing, it is vital that the victims and their families investigate the causes for the crash. While the rail companies will likely point fingers at the driver who moved into the train’s path, things are not that simple.
Rail crossing accidents may have resulted because the rail company failed to keep up things, allowing overgrowth to block rail crossing signs, for instance. Maybe there was no crossing gate installed even though the intersection warranted its installation.
Perhaps the train engineer made a mistake, because he was distracted, intoxicated, or asleep on the job. The train itself may have had faulty brakes or a too-high rail speed.
Under state and federal law, railroad companies must operate, repair, and maintain rail crossing safely in order to protect people from the recognized danger of a moving train. Failure to do so may form the basis of a legal claim under either state personal injury or wrongful death laws.
Train crossings must be approached carefully. These are dangerous intersections, where trains can kill. Anyone involved in a train crossing crash in Illinois or Indiana should understand the possibility for justice under state law. Please be careful out there!
