Tag Archive for Safety

Florida Auto Safety: Railroad Crossing Safety Tips

Across the country, a person or a vehicle is hit by a train approximately every three hours. Florida ranks 7th worst in the nation for fatal accidents involving cars and trains and 13th worst for accidents involving collisions between trains and autos according to the Federal Railroad Administration (2009 statistics). Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit rail safety education program, notes that “current Federal Railroad Association (FRA) data shows that highway-rail grade crossing collisions and pedestrian trespass on tracks together account for over 95% of all railroad fatalities”.

There are many reasons for train/automobile accidents: impatience (not wanting to wait for the train to cross) and driver distraction rank high on the list. Other factors also come into play. Trains can look as if they are moving slower than they really are, which can prompt a driver to think they can beat the train through a railroad crossing. In addition, many railroad crossings are not equipped with electronic signals, so a driver may not realize a train is coming until it is too late.

Operation Lifesaver lists seven steps for around train tracks:

1. Approach a railroad crossing with care and slow down when you see an Advanced Warning Sign.

2. Be prepared to stop for a train. Turn off your air conditioner and radio, roll down your window, and look and listen for a train.

3. Double check to the left and right of your car and look in both directions before you drive across the tracks.

4. Cross railroad tracks with care. If your vehicle has a manual transmission, use a gear that will not require shifting until you reach the opposite side.

5. If you see a train approaching, stop at least 15 feet from the nearest rail, but not more than 50 feet from the rail.

6. Keep going once you start, even if lights start to flash or gates come down.

7. Trains extend beyond the width of the rails at least 3 feet on each side. If your vehicle has a trailer, remember to take the additional length into account when stopping after crossing the tracks.

An additional Florida auto safety tip regarding train crossings: don’t stop your car on the railroad tracks while waiting for a traffic light to change. If a train comes and traffic is backed up waiting for a light on the other side of the tracks, you may be the one stuck in the train’s path!

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Trains and Cars Don’t Mix: Florida Auto Safety Tips

For whatever reason, South rates decline around train tracks: Florida has a very high rate of train-versus-car accidents. The Sun Sentinel newspaper reported a story in November, 2009 in which a collision between a Tri-Rail communter train and a car resulted in the deaths of two of the three women in the car. The third passenger in the car was seriously injured. This accident is the sixth South Florida accident in 2009 that involved a car and either a Tril-Rail train or an Amtrak train. Most of the accidents involved a car that was stuck on the tracks at a railroad crossing.

There is more bad news: the Federal Railroad Administration reports that Florida ranks 9th on the list of states for collisions between a train and an automobile. The Sunshine State had 74 collisions out of the 2,391 auto-train accidents in 2008 and these collisions resulted in 25 deaths.

While it is difficult to know exactly why people have trouble at railroad crossings, impatience surely is a factor. People just do not want to be stuck waiting for a train to cross in front of them, so they try to jump the crossing gates to get through before the train does. Distraction plays another role: if people are on their cell phones or are texting while driving, they often miss visual or auditory clues from the environment around them. Many fail to see the changing of a traffic light or the pedestrian stepping off a curb in front of them, and often can fail to see railroad gates lowering in front of them.

Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit public education program formed in 1972, offers videos, publications, and tips to help drivers end collisions, deaths and injuries at places where roadways cross train tracks, and on railroad rights-of-way. They give seven steps for around train tracks:

1. Approach crossing with care. Slow down when you see an Advanced Warning Sign.

2. Prepare to stop. Turn off fans and radio, roll down windows. Look and listen for a train.

3. Stop at least 15 feet from nearest rail, but not more than 50 feet, if you see a train.

4. If it won’t fit, don’t commit. Trains extend beyond the width of the rails at least 3 feet on each side. If your vehicle has a trailer, remember the additional length.

5. Double check, back left and right. Before you move look in both directions.

6. Cross tracks with care. If your vehicle has a manual transmission, use a gear that will not require shifting until you reach the opposite side.

7. Keep going once you start, even if lights start to flash or gates come down.

We will offer an additional Florida auto safety tip: if traffic is backed up from a traffic light on the other side of the tracks, don’t stop your car on the tracks while waiting for the light to change. If a train comes before the traffic in front of you can move out of the way, you will be the one stuck in its path!

 

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Toyota Recalls Fuel New Auto Safety Laws

The numerous recalls by Toyota have forced the United States Government to devise new auto safety laws to regulate the problems associated with these recalls. It aims to bring some impacting changes into the whole recall process. This would legally require all vehicles sold in the United States to be equipped with brake override systems. Brake override would assist drivers in countering the effects of unintended acceleration thus reducing accidents.

There have been over 6000 complaints registered against Toyota related to sudden acceleration over the last decade. These complaints also include statistics of more than 80 loss of human live. The new auto safety law has placed consumer safety the utmost priority and all measures are being taken to reduce the number of accidents.

The United States Government is planning to make it mandatory for all cars to have black boxes to record crash information. This installation would help in extracting relevant car accident data. However, experts are debating over the violation of privacy if black boxes are placed inside the cars. Anyhow, the new auto safety laws ultimate objective is to stiffen potential penalties against automakers. This will give the government more powers to demand a recall and push the car companies to meet new safety standards.

It seems the efforts to reduce accidents caused due substandard cars, will increase the budget of the U.S. Government. Now, we have to wait and watch how viable these new rules are if they are implemented.

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