In the U.S., someone is injured or killed in a train accident every 110 minutes. In Connecticut alone, there have been more than 50 fatal train accidents in the last decade. Far deadlier than most Connecticut car accidents, collisions with trains are often blamed on the car driver.
Yet, is there more that can be done to stop cars from crossing tracks when a train is coming?
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), driver error causes more than 80 percent of all train-and-car collisions. Roadway conditions cause most of the other accidents and safety equipment malfunction is to blame in one to two percent of all railroad accidents.
However, the data it not as clear as it may seem. First, federal investigators usually do not investigate train accidents. The FRA will step in when there are casualties or significant property or environmental damage. Furthermore, the law takes much of the blame off railroad companies, since trains have the right of way and pedestrians are often considered “trespassers” on railroad property.
Finally, safety equipment is not at the standards it could be. For example, there are lights and gates that stop motorists from crossing railroad tracks, but the gates break on impact and do not stop cars from going through them in poor weather conditions.
Every year, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) studies which railroad crossings are likely to have the most accidents and publishes this information to the states, which can then decide whether or not to improve those crossings. Yet, according to a review by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, those crossings were not the ones with the most collisions. The review studied Connecticut accident locations since 1975, finding that five crossings in Fairfield County had at least five collisions each, with one crossing – Camp Avenue in Darien – accounting for 11 train-and-car accidents.
Even when the finger is pointed toward them, those injured in accidents at railroad crossings should turn to a personal injury lawyer to discuss their case and their options for recovery.