NTSB official addresses train crossing safety measures after deadly Missouri Amtrak crash

[marmar]

In the wake of a fatal Amtrak train crash in rural Missouri that left four people dead and dozens injured, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said Tuesday that the federal agency has recommended lights and bells at crossings since the 1990s.

Homendy noted that the “passive crossing” where the crash occurred did not have active lights or bells to warn drivers of oncoming trains, saying the NTSB has recommended those measures since 1998. About half of the country’s crossings remain passive crossings.

“We still don’t see action on that. It’s been 24 years and that recommendation is still as important today as it was in 1998. Lives could be saved,” Homendy said.

A state report issued in February showed the crossing where the deadly crash occurred was due for those upgrades — a project analysis ballparked the cost at around $400,000 — and neighbors told The Star on Monday that concerns have been raised there for years. ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/06/29/officials-disputed-cassidy-hutchinson-bombshell-testimony-were-trumps-yes-men-report/

[Backseat Driver]

1. Lights, bells, and/or gates won't stop the kamikaze saboteur or careless/distracted.

[cyclonefence]

2. I suspect the vast majority (99+)

of crossing collisions are caused by drivers trying to outrun the train. But if drivers have no warning at all, even a careful driver could conceivably cause such an accident.