Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="garr"] Why not take the simple approach and replace the cross bucks and gates with a standard red light? Motorist will sit at a red light at 2 am with no other cars approaching waiting for minutes on green. Plus it seems that red light running was not one of the offenses this truck driver had been charged with. Probably would have proven as effective as any other proposal mentioned thus far. Jay   <div style="clear: both;"></div> [/quote] Your observation that people will stop and wait for a red traffic light at 2:00 AM with no cars around, and yet, run right past grade crossing flashers and weave around the gates is probably the single most significant indicator of the underlying grade crossing problem.  <o:p></o:p> Here is the explanation:  First of all, there is a deep and long-instilled belief among drivers that they are permitted to use their own discretion in determining whether it is safe to cross, simply by judging the speed and proximity of the train.  That is a fundamental backdrop of a belief system that goes right back to the beginning.  And it remains the core of responsibility surrounding the non-signalized crossings even today.  So it is deeply seated part of the public consciousness.  <o:p></o:p> And even the laws on signalized crossings permit drivers to pass the flashing lights in certain circumstances using their own discretion.  It is only the lowered gates that are absolutely inviolable.  If the gates are down, the road is closed, train or no train.  But most drivers do not know that.  With a red traffic light, on the other hand, there is no sense of the freedom to use personal discretion in deciding whether to stop and wait.  With a red traffic light, drivers just accept it as an abstract concept.  With grade crossing flashers, drivers think of the train and wonder if they need to wait for it.   <o:p></o:p> However, the number-one-main-reason why drivers wait for traffic lights, but run grade crossing lights is their worry about an excessive delay from trains.  So it is not the style of stoplight, but rather it is the type of crossing that motivates drivers to yield or not.  Therefore, if you protected grade crossings with traffic lights, drivers would fail to heed the traffic lights to the same extent they fail to heed crossing flashers.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag