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Amtrak Accident - Non-Working Crossing Signals
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=verdana,geneva>I checked into why the Illinois law seems to override the premise that a crossbuck means yield at active grade crossings.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If I understand it correctly, the meaning of signage is established by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, but they have no legal authority to enforce these meanings in states.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The meaning is only given authority by state law, and state law can modify the meaning.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So, while it is true that a crossbuck means yield, that meaning may have no legal effect if it is overridden by state law.</FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT face=verdana,geneva size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT face=verdana,geneva size=2>I suspect that the reason Illinois law exempts drivers from treating the crossbuck as a YIELD sign at active crossings is that they don’t want people to slow down for these crossings when they are not activated.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Slowing down to yield creates a road hazard for rear end crashes, and it slows down traffic.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Both of these concerns may outweigh the slight safety advantage of having drivers look for trains when the crossing signals and gates are not activated.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT face=verdana,geneva size=2><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN> </P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT face=verdana,geneva size=2><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN>So, in Illinois, you don’t have to look for trains before crossing signalized crossings when the signals are not activated. Therefore, I conclude that the victim of this Amtrak grade crossing crash was 100% blameless.</FONT><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></SPAN> </P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT color=#cc0000>EDIT: FURTHER INFORMATION INDICATES THAT MY CONCLUSION HERE IS INVALID.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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