Question: Can you talk about railroad crossing safety and the laws that cover it?
Answer: In my career, I had responded and investigated train/vehicle crashes where the majority of them resulted with a fatality or a serious injury to the vehicle occupants. Collisions with trains are mostly preventable. In Minnesota, failure to yield the right of way, disregard of a traffic control device, improper turn and inattention and impatience are cited as the most common factors contributing to motor vehicle/train crashes.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has worked to share the following rail safety tips:
• Yield the right-of-way to trains at highway-rail crossings. It's the law.
• Never drive around lowering gates, it's illegal and deadly.
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• Never race a train to the crossing; even if it is a tie, you lose.
• Expect a train on the track at any time, trains do not follow set schedules.
• Look out for the second train when crossing multiple tracks.
• Immediately get out of your vehicle if it stalls on the crossing, get clear of the tracks and call 911.
• Always stop your vehicle, behind the white line when crossing gates are down or lights are flashing. Wait for the crossing gates to rise and lights to stop flashing and look both ways, listen and proceed with caution.
Bicyclists and pedestrians should always look both ways before crossing railroad tracks, cross only in designated areas and avoid crossing when gates are down. They should be aware that trains may operate any time throughout the day and night in either direction and please know that walking on the railroad tracks is illegal.
At 50 mph, it takes a fully-loaded freight train 1.5 miles to come to a full-stop. By the time the train engineer sees a vehicle or pedestrian on the tracks, it is often too late.
The chance of death or serious injury from a motor vehicle/train crash is 11 times greater than for other highway collisions.
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Because of their size, approaching trains appear to be traveling at a slower speed.
Railroad tracks and property close to the tracks (railroad "right-of-way") belong to the railroad. People who don't have permission to be on railroad property are trespassing. Even if there isn't a "No Trespassing" sign, it's still illegal and dangerous to be on the property.
A portion of state statutes were used with permission from the Office of the Revisor of Statutes. If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Trp. Jesse Grabow - Minnesota State Patrol at 1000 Highway 10 West, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501-2205. (You can follow him on Twitter @MSPPIO_NW or reach him at, jesse.grabow@state.mn.us ).
