IMHO the latest meet on METRA just brings to mind that a rethinking of what needs to be done.
Require all drivers that are renewing CDLs to take a test 20 - 30 question test on railroad operations. FHA might be able to do this by rule making.
Any driver involved in any kind of crossing incident after taking this test will loose CDL for 5 years.
2a. Not only local police can cite but also FRA to prevent good - old - boy looking other way.
Any company / independent must carry minimum $5M non cancelable liability policy that must be shown to renew license plate. plate expires month policy ends.
Company is also liable for penalty if a certain percentage of fleet involved in incidents.
Fines for incidents go into funds for crossing eliminations.
If 2 or more incidents at a crossing funds go to eliminate that crossing.
May be the above will cause more training of truck drivers.?
While some of your ideas have some merit, I don’t see them happening. I think where you really have to start is when the people are growing up and take their first driver training and insist that they obey all traffic signals and signs and warning signs. The people have to have a bit of intelligence to drive. Most truckers are owner operators and barely able to afford the minimum cargo and auto liability. A $5M liability policy would be out of reach for most truckers. right now the FMCSA’s CSA scores are really what affect a driver and his employability. If only the FMCSA would establish the rules they have been promising for a couple of years, it might get better.
The real problem is the acute shortage of qualified truck drivers now and it will only get worse.
Another problem is the media. The way they portray a grade crossing incident makes one think the train went after the truck to run into it. The media should plainly say - truck illegally crossed grade crossing while red signals blinking and gate down into the way of the oncoming train - or something like that.
Sometimes crossings are defective. I’ve come across a couple myself. One of them was in Toronto, across a heavily travelled road. The other was a rural crossing where the lights became activated only a couple of seconds prior to the train coming through. Nothing wrong with more training, but one shouldn’t assume its always the driver’s fault. Maybe I found the only two defective crossings in the world, but somehow I don’t think so.
There’s a bit of a hue and cry around here right now as the result of CSX announcing that train speeds are getting bumped up to 40 from 25. Of course, most fear the worst…
I’ll go along with the early training and proper reporting in the media.
The problem with the local media, though, is that most are now shoestring operations (even the “big guys”), and they simply aren’t prepared for the “once in a blue moon” truck vs train collision. Some probably even share the opinion that the “big bad trains” are responsible, even if the vehicle ran into the side of the train (as happened in WV).
And, in that respect, it behooves the railroad industry to make sure that their spokespersons accurately portray such incidents. Those of us here know that in the vast majority of cases it was a bone-headed move by the driver that caused the incident. There are ways to say so without pointing fingers, as such. Nobody wants to hear that their loved one is at fault, even if all indications show that to be the case.
Those incidents should also be teaching moments. Prevention is a wonderful thing.
Now the bigger question - did you accurately report your observations to the carrier involved? If not, how did you expect the carrier find and fix the problem?
TCA pretty much behaves like FRA…funny that TCA isn’t seeing what Ulrich claims to see.
(The again, anyone dealing with the FRA crossing accident reporting system knows how bad local law enforcement is on the reporting. Sometimes wonder if the person reporting the incident is any brighter dim-bulb than the one creating the accident)
Actually I did, in both cases. In the first case it was a crossing that came down and then went up…and THEN the train came through (narrowly missing a city bus). I called CN who was unaware of the problem. They did send a repair crew out, and the crossing functioned properly after that. Yes, I followed up on my initial call also.
The second incident occurred a couple of years later at a rural crossing in Quebec. I approached a crossing and just as the lights started flashing a fast VIA went through… I would say that from when the lights started to flash to when the train went through was about four seconds. It really caught me off guard.
So yes indeed, I did report both cases accurately, and I did follow-up. Why they needed ME to do that is really the big question. I would have thought the crew on board the trains would report these incidents, but I guess not. The carriers should be on top of their own equipment… it shouldn’t be up to a good Samaritan to report malfunctioning safety devices. I sure don’t depend on litt
Maybe lightening does strike at the same place twice. Like I stated, maybe I found the only two defective crossing devices in the world. I’m not saying we don’t have bone headed truck drivers. All I’m saying is that sometimes the problem may be a little more complex than a truck driver not seeing a train in broad daylight. It could be a defective crossing device…it could be a bone headed driver who is scratching his behind and not paying attention at a crucial moment. Could be… not sure if training is the answer as anyone I’ve ever met who has the ability to get up in the morning and put a pair of socks on knows about the danger of trains at level crossings. Maybe more videos or perhaps electric shock therapy might do it.
Now about the RASH, does anyone have any hard numbers? I haven’t seen any numbers to suggest that truck train accidents are on the rise.
I’ll reply to this better when I can get a good internet connection from my laptop instead of being on my phone, but the quality of new hires in the trucking industry has plummeted the last few years…
I have to have a physical every 2 years and carry my card with me everywhere. Non CDL drivers get a ticket for speeding 15 MPH over the posted limit I lose my license and my job even if driving a car, motorcycle, or commercial truck. (Fair?) Hazmat endorsements are retested every 2 years. Random drug and alcohol tests all the time at any time with a zero tolerance policy (blow a .001 and see how fast your CDL comes out of your pocket). Most of our drivers log 15,000 miles in 6 weeks. Most drivers will not see that in a year! Yet any 90 year old man who can’t see, walk, and takes more medication than a pharmacy can stock could buy a motor home the size of a greyhound buss and drive it anywhere he wants without any of those requirements. Some drunk redneck crashes his 1972 rusted out ford pickup into a train and it is still called a truck accident!!! There are a great many trucks commercial or otherwise that do not fit the CDL requirement but is still considered a truck.
Before calling this a rash look at how many truck miles a year are done. Then look at all the car VS train accidents and tell me about a rash. Truck train accidents are popularized by the lame stream media a lot more than car train accidents. Remember these are the same reporters telling us the conductor had no time to stop or turn the train.
From what I’ve heard on the scanner over the past few years, I can only conclude that the same thing is happening on the railroads.
And probably in the many other occupations that require a special kind of person that is able to handle the rather difficult lifestyle as well as the stress.
If you consider the number of trucks on the roads plus the number of cars, and then add in the number of trains, factor in some driver inattention, add a dash of impatience, add perhaps a pinch of confusion being in a new location, multiply by poor driver education and training, and you have an ongoing recipe for disaster.
It amazes me that there aren’t MORE crashes on the roads.
It really irritates me when one truck driver makes a mistake and then other folks, with an agenda, use his/her error to smear other truck drivers. I regard it as hate speech. Pure and simple.
Look, virtually all truck drivers just want to do their job well, deliver their load, and get home safe. Trucks, and truck drivers, aren’t your enemy. They’re your partner
Sometimes a railroad is the most efficient way, sometimes a truck is the most efficient way. Accept that reality.
I think there’s an implication that if you’re driving a “big rig” you have a slightly higher level of responsibility to do so responsibly. That’s why the drivers have to have a CDL, etc. You should be aware of your surroundings and especially the characteristics and limitations of your vehicle. And the vast majority do just that. But it only takes one or two to make the news. The millions of miles driven daily without incident aren’t newsworthy.
Of course, there are always going to be mitigating circumstances, some of which can be major players in the causes of such incidents. An undetected defect in the braking system can make its presence known at the worst possible time, leading to a collision. Stuff like that.
In emergency services, we deal with a principle known as “due regard.” On an emergency response, we are allowed to ignore certain traffic control devices, but only if we show due regard in doing so. As I often tell folks - if you go through a green light with your lights flashing and the siren blaring and someone runs the red light and hits you, it’s still your fault (variations may apply) because you did not use “due regard.” That’s why you see emergency vehicles stop at green lights before passing through the intersection - never mind the red lights and stop signs…
In regard to trucks and grade crossing accidents. One thing that is the case, if a train and car collide too bad for the car. If a truck and train collide all too frequently it is a case of too bad for everyone. One thing I said when I was a driver trainer was one is driving a bigger vehicle, ones responsibility is also larger. And that responsibility is not only to your vehicle bit to all the other vehicles one shares the road with. Including trains at grade crossings. As to truck drivers in 70-80% of all car truck accidents the fault is assigned to the driver of the car. In roughly 50% of all accidents is the driver found to have been able to prevent the accident. Or to flip the last over in half of all accidents the truck driver is found to been along for the ride. That description is what train crews feel like at a grade crossing accident. As to what happens when a driver of a commercial vehicle is convicted of a grade crossing violation. The current FMCSR 's say the license is suspended. A third conviction and the CDL is revoked permanently. Rgds IGN
No numbers yet to support the rash though. Viewing too many sensational youtube vids back to back might however give one the impression that truck/train collisions are more prevalent than they really are.
I feel that as a CDL that drove for almost 2 years that I can have a say about the few idiots that give all other CDL drivers a very bad name. CDLs should be expected to be held to a higher standard than auto drivers… During my flying career these few bad eggs would be long gone from flying.
CDLs should be expected to know the rules and be tested on their knowledge. I will say that the CDL Haz-Mat test is much more difficult than the one for flying. One has to wonder if those drivers with the Haz - mat endorsement are a cut above the rest ?
Maybe those drivers involved in much fewer incidents ?
The news account does not attempt to blame the railroad; it states that the truck driver was lost, which tells us that he should not have been there. It also credits the engineer with stopping the train.
The news account also gives a new description of a locomotive: “the train’s lead car.”
CDL drivers are held to a different standard from that which applied to me when I was shipping hazmat–I was required to be recertified every third year for ground (this may have been changed in the past seven years), and every other year for air shipments.
Occasionally, I had to reassure a local driver that my shipping papers were in order. At least once, I received a non-hazardous load that was marked on the papers as being hazardous–with no description of any hazard; the driver should have noticed that when he picked the load up; he had been stopped at a state line and, being still somewhat wet behind his ears, had his load thoroughly gone over by an inspector. On the whole, all of the OTR drivers knew what was required, and most of the local drivers, particularly those for one company, also knew.