Railroad Crossings

Rail road crossings can be very dangerous, lives have been lost because of poor judgment.

When coming to a railroad crossing you must first make a complete stop and pay attention to flashing lights and gates lowering also listen for trains if you cant see it you might be able to hear it. You also need to remember that trains cannot swerve to avoid a collision they are connected to the tracks. All the conductors can do is blow their horn and pull the emergency brake! It takes a train up to eighteen football fields to completely stop. Trains can create optical illusions because they are big and moving at high speeds so they appear to be moving slower than they really are. Did you know that you are forty more times likely to be killed by a moving train than by another moving motor vehicle. This is because there is such a big difference in the weight ratio, it is compared to a car running over a twelve ounce pop can. Most people think that all of the fatality’s occur where there are no automated stopping devices but actually almost fifty percent of these accidents actually happen where high end technology is present. When you try to outrun a train you are not only putting yourself in danger but also the train crew, your family, and even your community. When a train has to put on their emergency brake quickly it can cause lots of problems and usually ends up with some of the cars being derailed. When a train hits something large such as a bus or diesel truck it can end up in explosions damaging near by buildings and anything in its path. There was one accident where a tanker truck full of gas tried to beat a train and didn’t make it, it resulted in an explosion and the loss of eleven lives of innocent people waiting in their cars. Railroad crossings are made to prevent accidents, so do not try to outrun trains. Emergency’s can arise at any crossings at anytime because and engine may stall or your trailer gets hung up because of low clearance. In this type of