Dangerous train crossings taking lives in Missouri
According to a 2017 ABC News report, Missouri’s rail system is “one of the deadliest” in America. It has 3,800 public crossings and is 10th in the U.S. “in miles of track.” In 2016, eight people were killed at rail road crossings in the state. These accidents still happen with regularity.
In 2017, KCTV, KMOV and the Herald-Whig reported three deaths in three months.
A train hits a person or vehicle ”every three hours” in the United States,” according to American Security Today, a website with informative articles for all types of security professionals at local, county, state and federal levels.
This YouTube video, “Stop! A Train Can’t,” by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), illustrates the deadly consequences when a train hits a vehicle. It shows a train travelling at 55 miles an hour. It takes a mile – the length of 18 football fields or more – to stop once the train’s emergency brakes are applied.
Why are Missouri train crossing so deadly?
In 2017, Columbia, Missouri’s ABC News affiliate aired a special report about dangerous railroad crossings in the state. The most dangerous are in Monroe County, Randolph County, Cole County and Audrain County. According to its report, Missouri has 1,900 passive public crossings. They do not have flashing lights or gates.
A woman whose 80-year-old father died at a passive crossing on County Road 235 in Monroe County two days after Thanksgiving in 2016, told the TV station the combination of a one-lane gravel road with the angle of the track and the tree line sets up “a perfect storm” for drivers.
Although she asked the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to look at the location, she has yet to receive a reply, even though according to the report, MoDOT is in the process of upgrading the state’s passive public crossings.
What is the federal government doing to make RR crossings safer?
The nation’s 47 rail road companies must install Positive Train Control by December 31, 2018, according to USA Today. The technology stops trains traveling above the speed limit or ignoring track signals. But the news agency also reported 29 railroads could miss the deadline. Congress delayed it once in 2015 to avoid “a catastrophic shutdown in freight rail traffic.”
Wayne Wright knows the federal deadline could be delayed again
Freight trains move more than 2 billion tons of products across the U.S. every year. With MoDOT struggling to improve passive crossings and a possible delay in the auto stop program, you are at risk. In any kind of accident, you can depend on Wayne Wright. He is one of America’s top trial lawyers. He’s been winning top dollar awards for accident victims for more than 40 years. Calls are free. So are evaluations. Fees are only due when he wins your case.