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Railroaders ideas to improve crossing safety

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Hey Ed, hope all is going well down in TX. Did you know the company knew that the coffee was dangerously hot, yet in an effort to maximize 'profit' it was kept that hot. Did you know that as a result of this spilled coffee the person suffered thousands of dollars in medical bills. Did you know that they had hundreds of smaller incidents with people getting burnt and continued to keep it at that excessive temp. I didn't either. Its a perfect case of being single sided until you know the complete story. Please read this letter that follows. It is from someone who is also concerned about rail safety and wrote to the Senator for Texas. The following is a letter sent to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Greetings, Still having deep roots in Texas , I write again. I continue to learn in my quest to become an effective rail safety advocate. I know you have strong ties to the rail indsutry, and Operation Lifesaver. I wonder if you are aware of how slanted the message they present , really is? I hope not, and that you are willing to learn. Operation Lifesaver gets their info from the railroads and FRA. FRA takes what the industry hands them. It is not a clear and full picture. I know that a grade rail crossings accident history , has to do with it's working it's way up a priority list for 'active protective devices'. When an accident does not show up on a crossing's accident history it's rather like a batter getting a free strike. The crossing where my daughter was hit and killed, for even up to 4 years later; it's history showed NO accidents. There have been numerous accidents there. I had seen the debris from ours and one other 2 years before. Locals have told me of others. Only after contacting Tom Woll at FRA and bringing this to his attention , were even those 2 added to the history. The thing that kept me thinking that LOOK , LISTEN and LIVE was enough to keep us safe, was we did also employ the STOP that OLI used to preach. This is a rural crossing, the county road T's into Hwy 287. At the time of the first wreck I saw the remains of , visability at the crossing was actually severly restricted, but as the BN never did any thing to change the apperance of the crossing, we all thought, 'the man hit just tried to beat the train'. After Jen was hit, I knew better, because of my history with friends being killed at grade rail crossings we were far more cautious than the average . It finally became apparent , we could not see far enough ( inadequate sight triangle ) to allow for the speed the trains going through the crossing. Only after we filed a wrongful death suit, did the BNSF come out and clean out the right of way , to allow a better opportunity to see the train coming. Texas laws speak of keeping right of ways cleared, mentioning of vegetation up to trees of 6 inches in diamater. They felled trees of more than a foot in diameter. Along with those wild plum trees that had grown up into the ballast. Senator Hutchison, I know this is rather long, but I hope that something in here I relay to you gets your attention. The rail industry has pulled the wool over your eyes. The carnage continues because they are ,and have for decades behaved in a truely unresponsible manner. The numbers for grade rail crossing deaths are rising again, and that is with at least BNSF aggressively closing crossings. Train traffic is up and they refuse to maintain the clear line of sight necessary for safe passage over the danger area. The devices they use to activate flashing light, bells and gates fail. CFR's demand that FAILSAFE devices be used,and it is not being done. It is just most of America does not understand the workings of the devices,and accept the term the rail industry has coined, mal-functioning. I just went to the site of a crossing accident, resulting in the death of a vibrant young mother. Restricted visability, the tracks curve not far from the crossing, and beyond the curve , tracks nor train is visable. Track speed is 70 mph. Senator Hutchison, the school bus uses that crossing. And the local coverage of the accident lays all the blame for the accident at the drivers feet. Leaving all the local folks using that crossing believing that long as they drive in a prudent manner and look and listen, they will be safe. Actually they are playing Russian Roulette. Abet , unawares. It has taken me years to acquire the ability to communicate with others on this subject , without rancor, and hopefully bring understanding of the underlying problem. Legislation must bring the rail industry to responsible corporate behavior. I pray you will be a leader in this quest.
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