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In the photographs, the tank cars have highly visible reflectors, which are appear to be in excellent condition.  Yet they did not prevent two run-into-train crashes.  <o:p></o:p> The FRA said that trains can be hard for drivers to see at night.   Yet, if drivers obey the laws already in place, they will not run into trains.  When you say trains must be reflectorized because drivers have a hard time seeing them, it contradicts the rules that drivers must not drive if they do not see where they are going.  This can’t be had both ways, although I doubt that the FRA has thought it through enough to see the conflict.     <o:p></o:p> The fire department official on the scene said that the train was difficult to see and that is why motorists ran into it.  He did not say anything about the responsibility of drivers to see where they are going.  He did not take the hard line approach of most railfans and nearly all railroad employees that every grade crossing crash is the fault of the driver.     <o:p></o:p> If the FRA had simply mandated reflectors without offering the rationale that takes responsibility away from drivers and places it on the train, it would be different.  But clearly the FRA rationale sympathizes with drivers who over-drive their headlights and/or fail to pay attention and the fire chief agrees with them.      So once you start down that road, it leads to a slippery slope.  If you put reflectors on the side of your train because you believe it is hard for drivers to see it at night, and if drivers still run into it, it must mean that reflectors are not enough to address the problem.  That is the slippery slope.  <o:p></o:p> I expect litigation in this double crash, and I expect the car reflectors to play a large role in the trials.  Maybe the plaintiffs’ lawyers will bring in the FRA and the fire chief to tell the jury that trains are hard for drivers to see at night, and the railroad industry knows this to be a fact.  And yet they did not do enough to prevent crashes.
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