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Amtrak derails in central California
I live in Hanford, and everyone was talking about this.
More information, photos, and video can be accessed through the following report of KCRA-TV:
sounds like Nevada 2010
Here’s a link to an update on the situation…
Ed,
In these days of me first I don’t think it would matter what type of lights were placed at a grade crossing. I have seen way too many motorists (trucks, buses, cars - everything) ignore traffic lights, no-passing zones, and pretty much every other safety rule put in place to make roads safe just to save a couple of seconds on their drive to wherever.
Maybe trucking companies should be forced to implement a system comparable to PTC to make sure trucks comply with the law.
If grade crossings had 3 position lights then those persons of questionable intelligence would still increase speed on the yellow light so as to beat the red light.
Have we quit giving truck drivers vision tests in our effort to cut government spending??
Have we quit giving truck drivers vision tests in our effort to cut government spending??
Part of the answer is that the driver loses his truck license, spends a few years in prison and both he and his trucking company pays Amtrak and UP for all damages and lawsuits by those injured. By the way, I’m amazed that these yoyo truckers always seem to take aim at Amtrak trains…
Amtrak did not derail; rather, it was struck by a big !@#$%^& truck that caused it to derail. At least give the devil his due and get the headline right.
I’m surprised that 15 folks commented on this derailment and didn’t take note of the reported fact that the truck in question is owned by the BNSF Railway. Warren Buffet is going to half to dig deep into his pockets to clean up this financial mess.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that the Fullerton Amtrak station seen in the photo being used to represent the train?
I can not understand why grade crossings do not have 3 position traffic lights. Drivers will obey the same traffic lights they see at road intersections if put at railroad crossings. I have seen a regular 3 position traffic light at a rail crossing in New Jersey and there has never been an collision there.
Yet another mother trucker in action.
Trucks are so big now that its a toss up 50/50 chance that the train will win …or truck will win only difference is trains don’t get cut off on on ramps by mini vans
Good point about the traffic signals. I imagine traditional RR grade crossing signals predate traffic stoplights and have never been replaced since a RR crossing and a road intersection are regarded as two different critters.
It’s unfortunate that the media will refer to this as an “Amtrak crash” rather than as a “truck-train crash”, much as they did here in Maine when a Downeaster struck a semi at a grade crossing last year, killing the truck driver. It was clearly driver error–he left 270 feet of skid marks in a 35 mph zone and apparently had just finished a cell phone conversation with his boss–but news stories all called it “the Amtrak crash”.
Derailment? Sounds to me like a trucker knocked the Amtraker off the tracks while texting or lighting his crack pipe.
Too many motorists are using the yellow light as a “cue” to speed up to beat the red light. Advance signals to be placed ahead of tracks that run paralell to inersections and roads directly next to the tracks. It would also help if stop signs were placed BEFORE the tracks, not in between tracks and the intersecting roads. It shows how stupid are road planners are.