The 1999 Amtrak crash: the dilemma of rail crossing safety

By: Les Dobson

Date: Thursday, 13. December 2007

Serious questions are raised about the safety of railway crossings and the perceptions of vehicle drivers in the wake of the tragic accident in Illinois, USA, in which a fast Amtrak commuter train and a steel-laden, semi-trailer truck collided. At least 13 train passengers died and more than 100 were injured in the mishap.

There were 217 people aboard the City of New Orleans train when it crashed March 15 at a busy rural crossing 50 miles south of Chicago. Forty trains and 1,800 vehicles use the crossing daily. Three people have been killed there on three separate occasions over the past 35 years.

Officials say the crossing gates were down and the signal lights flashing at the time of the accident. Yet the truck, they believe, was straddling the tracks.

John Goglia, of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the black box in the lead locomotive of the two-engine train showed it was moving at the legal maximum speed of 79 mph. After colliding with the truck, the train smashed into two rail cars on a siding. The 14 railroad cars jackknifed behind the locomotives and leaking diesel fuel erupted into flames. Those killed were in a double-decker sleeping car.

The incident is a tragic reminder of the difficulties faced by U.S. rail officials in battling train fatalities, 95 per cent of which occur at grade crossings. Although such deaths have declined steadily over the past 10 years, more than 400 people are killed each year in the U.S. trying to cross train tracks.

In terms of collisions, the accident rate at crossings has dropped from 6,600 in 1988 to 3,440 last year. But rail officials say improved technology and extensive public service campaigns have not overcome poor judgment.

Technology and Cost

On the technology issue, a recent private study found that more than 80 per cent of America's railroad crossings lack gates and light signals. At the same time, the Department of Transport is spending $150 million a year to improve or eliminate crossings. The Illinois accident occurred at a crossing with flashing lights, gates and sensors on the track that activate the signals 26 seconds before the arrival of a high-speed train.

The latest technology includes "quad gates" that block both sides of the road in either direction and sensors that can detect a vehicle on the tracks and automatically stop an oncoming train in time. The best solution of all, though, is to construct a highway bridge or tunnel across the tracks at a cost of $3 to $6 million - hardly an economic proposition for every crossing.

Reports also say the Federal Railroad Administration has been experimenting with a fast-deployment net similar to those used to catch runaway jets on an aircraft carrier, although how this would contain the momentum of a locomotive at full speed is unclear.

Which leads us to perception. Why do drivers persist in either trying to beat the gates or drive around them? Why do they frequently get caught straddling the tracks between the gates?

The Challenge of Education

Bob McGuire, of the Volpe Safety Center of the Department of Transport, says some of the issues will be discussed at the upcoming conference in San Antonio on the training of commercial and private drivers. "We've got several studies in the works dealing with such things as the engineering issues and human factors, but this is essentially a long-term project.

"Very rarely do signals fail to operate the way they're intended," he adds, "and it appears in the Illinois accident that the signals did work."

What factors, then, come into play that may alter or affect a driver's judgment?

Typically, crossings are activated by a circuit on the track that's a fixed distance from the gates. This means that the arrival of the train depends on its speed. A high-speed commuter train is going to arrive sooner than a lumbering freight train. But even the fastest trains will activate the signals 26 seconds before their arrival.

The question is whether drivers who may have waited several minutes in the past for a slow-moving freight train may believe they have lots of time to get across. Also, if they can see down the track, do they realize how quickly a distant train can be on top of them, and how long it takes a train to stop?

Playing Russian Roulette

Bill Walpert, vice-president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, says it can take a 10,000-ton train traveling at 50 mph a full mile to come to a halt in an emergency situation.

Yet drivers continue to play Russian roulette at the wheel. Not only that, nearly one-third of the motorists killed in rail accidents die when they broadside a train that has already crossed their path, raising questions as to the effectiveness of crossing warning signs.

Safety measures are only a partial solution if public perception doesn't change, says Marmie Edwards, of the non-profit train safety group, Operation Lifesaver Inc. "People are less likely to go through a red traffic light than they are through the flashing warning lights on a crossing," he says. "They refuse to see they're putting their lives at risk."

Says Tom White, of the Association of American Railroads: "We can't figure out why people act this way. Maybe they can't hear because their stereos are too loud. Maybe they're in a hurry."

Yet another reason may be that some drivers rarely encounter a railroad crossing and may be totally inexperienced in dealing with them.

Whatever the cause, crossing accidents appear likely to continue into the foreseeable future. Better technology and education campaigns will help, but their effects may be mitigated by the advent of high-speed intercity rail service. More than anything, solid research is required to establish what drivers perceive and how they make their judgment calls in a sometimes unfamiliar and possibly scary situation. Only then will we know what motivates them to do what they do.

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