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Another person walks / rides in front of AMTRAK train

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According to the American Association of Railroads (AAR), the U.S. had 219,000 at grade railroad crossings in 2008, of which 136,041 were public roads.  Of these 42,301 had gates, 22,037 had flashing lights, 1,196 had highway traffic signals, wigwags, and/or bells.  The remainder were unprotected.  I could not find any data showing the reduction in the number of grade crossings, although I am sure that it is available and could be found with a bit more digging.  However, the reduction in U.S. railroad mileage suggests that there has been a corresponding reduction in the number of grade crossings. According to AAR, as well as Rand McNally, railroad mileage in the U.S. peaked at 254,000 miles in 1916. By 1950 the mileage was down to 223,800 miles. By 2000 it was 144,500 miles and as of the end of 2008 (last good numbers) it was 140,000. These are track miles; route miles are fewer. According to AAR, corroborated by DOT, grade crossing collisions fell 81% between 1980 and 2008. Injuries fell 79% and fatalities dropped 69%. I did not reconcile these number with my previous data, but they seem comparable. All forms of travel in the United States have become safer since 1960, which appears to be the first year that the feds got serious about collecting safety data. In 1960, for example, there were 4.40 highway fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles.  By 2008 the number had dropped to 1.95.  There has been a corresponding drop in all types of injuries, including serious injuries. The drop cuts across all modes of transportation, i.e. air, rail, water, etc.  Also, within mode, there are significant differences. For example, travelling on an interstate highway is considerably safer than driving on a country lane. Driving during the day is safer than driving at night. And certain days of the week are safer than others.
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