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bobchuck Not sure how it works but in Canada, towns can pass bylaws or whatever and have the railroad not blow at crossings. As a railroader we have a few crossings that have the no whistle blowing posts. They do have wigwags and crossing arms though. I believe their liability insurance goes way up as rumor had it that one town was going to do it but the insurance cost was to high. The wierd part is that we do not have to ring the bell anymore at crossings except those that you do not need to whistle at. Although I faithfully blow the crossings I am not sure how effective it has really become in this day and age. Most near misses I have had was simple the drivers were not paying attention even with me blasting away. The last grade crossing that happened on my subdivision killed a man. A school bus was stop at the crossing by the wigwags, The truck was crossing the opposite way and just kept on going. I felt very sorry for my 2 railroad buddies. The conductor had only 1 month to retirement and the engineer was pretty shook up as he saw the whole thing unfold and all the whistle blowing did not help. How effective is a horn, with a vechicle's windows rolled up and the radio on or using the cellphone and just not paying attention. I have often thought that if a spike belt came out for those that try run the gate they would end up with 4 flat tires. Maybe that would get them thinking. For other crossing I thought maybe a high intensity strobe light that would flash when a train was approaching could get their attention. I know from the near misses I have had they were not even aware of how close they got to being hit. One I had been involved in got out of his car and puked after he seen how close he had come. In my opionion nobody goes out with a death wish and they are truly tragic accidents. I wish I knew of a better way to get people's attention. Brent
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