FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 18, 2005
Railroad Crossing Dangers Can Be Prevented
Authorities Say
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PLACENTIA, CA— February 18,
2004 – A crackdown this week on routine railroad crossing
violators reveals research and new technologies will prevent much of the danger
that looms at intersections
today throughout California. The multi-city police
enforcement netted scores of expensive tickets drivers
who were caught even on media cameras
racing trains at intersections.
five-hour morning period
of improving driver safety at the about 15 at-grade/highway railroad crossings.
“This
confirms the data we have been collecting and clearly shows the magnitude of this
regional issue:
a very high percentage of drivers are routinely trying to beat the trains and
completely ignore all the
safety equipment now in place,” said Placentia Mayor Scott Brady.
“We
recently collected four months of video data documenting typical driver
behavior at four of the
crossings as part of the federal study process we are following to request a
permanent train whistle ban,”
explained Mayor Brady. “The data illustrated that more than 25
percent of drivers are regularly
trying to beat the trains by rushing lowering gates or going around closed
gates” (see streaming video
and data at www.ontrac-jpa.org), he
said.
Brady’s
comments follow his appearing before the Orange County Transportation Authority
Board of
Directors Meeting on
kind rail crossing safety improvement project at eight rail crossings in
“We are pleased that the OCTA Board saw the
need to address this important safety issue and to grant
the funds needed to complete the construction phase,” Brady said.
“Placentia’s
OnTrac project team has managed the design phase for more than three years as
the project
gained the approvals of the Federal Railroad Administration, California Public
Utilities Commission, the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, the Southern California Regional Rail
Authority as well as the
participating cities,” said OnTrac’s Director
installation of state-of-the-art rail crossing safety equipment including quad
gates, raised concrete medians
and new advance traffic signals that will prevent drivers from going around
crossing gate arms.”
Becker
also noted that all new larger and brighter red railroad flashing warning
lights will be installed
along
with upgraded and coordinated intersection traffic signals, signage and
pavement striping,
“The
new safety improvements are designed to dramatically reduce or cut out the
current violations,”
Becker said. “We believe this project can
serve as a national and statewide pilot project that many
other communities can learn from and we are willing to share our knowledge and
experience in what
has become a complicated challenge,” Brady explained.
With the OCTA funds approved
for the construction phase, the City team is now working the project
paperwork through the state and federal government in hopes of getting
construction started this summer.
“The sooner this gets
completed the sooner it will be safe at railroad crossings,” Brady told the Board
at
Monday’s meeting. Placentia Council Members Russ Rice, Norman
Eckenrode and
also addressed the Board and explained that more than 70 trains per day,
predominantly mile-and a-half-long
freighters, pass through these crossings and frustrated drivers often risk
their own safety to try to beat a train.
Members also stressed that more
than 140,000 cars per day travel across the rail crossings including 300
school busses and that two crossings are
at the top of the county’s worst accident list.
In response, OCTA
is planning to launch a Countywide
funding program to improve rail crossing safety at as many locations as
possible.
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