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North Dakota train-school bus accident kills two
When I was a kid in the sixties and seventies, the bus driver would come to a full stop and open the door at the front of the bus to look for a train, whenever they came to a grade crossing. It sounds like this driver did not do any of that. I recall a similar story back in the seventies about a Penn Central train that hit a school bus that did not even slow down for the crossing. A garbage truck in the opposing lane had already stopped to allow the train to pass.
The sad thing is there suppose to stop George and it kind of worries about how they did not even slow down.
Some lawyer will probably get someone to sue the railroad
Yeah, there will undoubtedly be some lawyering up by some trying to target the big bad railroad. If it is determined the bus driver did not suffer a sudden incapacitating physical condition then can we assume this was the result of lack of disciplne and adherance to the rules of the road? The age of the bus driver would seem to make that far less likely. I would think 30-40 somethings be more prone to skip the mandatory full stop and look both ways before proceeding.
I’m taking for granted proof the engineer began sounding the grade crossing signal the proper distance from the crossing.
Let’s not forget to give comfort and support to both the train crew and the families of the dead.
As a Class B CDL driver who holds passenger and school bus endorsements, and formerly drove a rural school bus route, it is federal law that buses, whether full or empty, stop at all grade crossings, and open the door to check for any coming train. On the federal carriers road test, if you do not comply with this, you automatically fail the driving test.
Supposedly, there’s some utility, or maybe magic,to opening the bus’s door where safety is concerned.
if that’s so, how come, why, isn’t there a door on the driver’s side?
Do these buses only cross tracks where trains approach exclusively from the right side?
Having been there and done most of that, I got stopped 'bout 100 feet from the rear end of a bus on a crossing in San Leandro, running a 90 car Warm Springs Turn, the"that" refers to potential and actual grade crossing collisions, I wish the greatest comfort for the victims and their family an friends.
Mr. Carlin, the reason for the door opening is that the driver has clear vision to their left through the large window next to their seat, but their view to the right is obstructed by the framework of the doors, hence the legal requirement to stop, open the door, and then proceed if clear.
Mr. Carlin, and Mr Jeffries:
Federal law requires that the door be opened in order to listen for a train, in addition to opening the window on the drivers side. As to why there isn’t a door on the driver’s side of the bus, students are only loaded from the passenger side for their safety so they aren’t loading or unloading right into the street.
Incidentally Mr. Carlin, I grew up in San Leandro. I know this is not the place for this, so please beg your pardon. I am trying to do some research on some industries that at one time used to be in San Leandro, specifically looking for pictures so as to kitbash or scratch build some models, specifically the former CalPack/Del Monte Cannery. Any suggestions on where I can look? Or if there are other message boards besides Flame, err, Trainorders that might shed some light?
Thank you sir.
As others have posted, opening the door provides better visibility. Perhaps more importantly, it also allows sound into the bus. The horn from a quarter mile away is not that loud. Even when we are close to a train in a car, we usually roll down the windows so we can hear it better. Yes, perhaps the operator could just open the driver’s window but opening the door provides a better confirmation that he (or she) is paying proper attention.
Ah, I see Eric has just mentioned this too.
John
Federal law is somewhat inconsistant with the requirement regarding opening doors. Opening the door is required for school buses but not commercial or transit buses. It does not have any requirement for the driver to open the driver’s side window.
Eric Gonzales,
In the 60’s and 70’s i guess I saw every industry spur in San Leandro, and down the road, Davis Street, right?, Mulford; every spur served by SP; there’s no recollection of a cannery on SP…so my supposition is that it was served by the WP, served now by web sites. .
Come to think about it, at Lewelling (sp?) Blvd on the Hayward Line we served, ( was it General Foods?) where covered hopper carloads of coffee beans were roasted, ground-up and canned…
It was Lewelling or the adjacent crossing where i got the Warm Springs Turn stopped short of slaughter…carnage…an A-C Transit bus which did not get the rear 25-or-so feet clear of the crossing before being stopped by traffic behind a traffic signal at a red light.
General foods is still there, owned by kraft as of 2 years ago. Its where Washington, and halycon (so) come together with the Hayward line. The cannery was between the Hayward line, and the wp mainline 1 block south of Davis st, behind the current BART station, and very close to the original location of the San Leandro depot. I know it was served by the wp (from the lone pic I have been able to locate, and had assumed that so also served it on the west side of the plant. My recollection of it is only as a 5 or 6 year old in the 1989-1990 time frame, long after it had been shuttered, and just before it was torn down.
Thanks for the response and insight. My search continues.
PS, if you would happen to have any employee time tables, specifically from the 60s, before the cannery and Caterpillar Tractor closed, are there any instructions or information for the area spurs and industry tracts surrounding Davis St in San Leandro?
Short answer, Eric, after checking a few Special Instructions summaries, no.
From the timetables, one can confirm that the yard limit rule governed use of the main track, but I found nothing specific about industry tracks…
You were right about General Foods being served by SP from the west and WP from the east, one track used by both. I ran SW1200s and SW1500s on a Local freights, originating terminal at Hayward, that had it’s first move was to pull and spot General Foods. Hot, hot hot! Spotted covered hoppers of coffee beans…
And Halcyon and Washington, you so politely reminded me…on the north side of General Foods was the obstructing bus. Which of those roads was it?
Thank you, sir.
A few years ago Wheeling & Lake Erie was running an Operation Lifesaver train. The camera on the train caught an empty school bus running a crossing which is against State Law. An Ohio State Trooper aboard the train observed the bus number. The bus driver was fired.
I understand that now whenever W&LE runs the Operation Lifesaver train, local law enforcement is stationed along the route and if the on-board Trooper sees a crossing violation the Trooper radios the locals who arrest the offender.
When I was kid in the 60’s, not only would the bus driver would come to a full stop and open the door at the front of the bus to look for a train, whenever they came to a grade crossing, but a child passenger was selected to run across the tracks and motion the bus across if no trains were observed. This was in Sussex County, Virginia.
The Maintenance of Way people need to see if they can find a similar size vehicle and drive this crossing under similar conditions. I don’t like coincidences and maybe there is something that caused two accidents other than just driver inattention that could be designed out of the crossing.