speed exceeds 55 mph. This study also suggested that vehicle speed is a much more significant predictor of crash lethality than the presence or absence of active warning devices.150 While there is some contradiction in the literature as to the effect of the speed of the rail or road vehicle, one study finds that the maximum speed for trains on the given line according to the railroad’s timetable has a significant effect on collision rates, while the actual speed of the train or road vehicle at the time of collision has a less significant effect.151 The source does not explain why this is, but it may have to do with warning devices being activated for longer before a train arrives on lines with higher timetable speeds (especially if trains are traveling slower than the timetable speed), increasing the odds that drivers who frequent crossings on such lines will try to beat the train. The literature consistently finds that restricting trains’ speeds in areas with high-traffic grade crossings could help reduce injury severity, reduce the time it takes trains to stop, and help lessen the instance and severity of trespasser strikes (which tend to occur within a mile of grade crossings). But such restrictions would affect passenger and freight timetables as well as operational fluidity. Reducing road speed limits around grade crossings would similarly help, but to be most effective, reduced speed limits should be combined with other roadway engineering modifications that have been shown to make motorists slow down and pay more attention to oncoming hazards, such as narrower roadways, sharper turns, and speed humps.152
3.3 Train Accidents (Not at Grade Crossings) Train accidents not at grade crossings are events such as derailments, train-train collisions, and other events that don’t involve grade crossings or trespassers. Most of the events that FRA reports under this category are relatively minor, however when a traintrain collision occurs, particularly with a passenger train, the results can be catastrophic. The early 2000s saw a significant spike in train accidents, followed by a significant decline and then a relative plateau for the past decade, shown in Figure 7. 78 percent of all train accidents are on Class I freight railroads, similar to their proportion of the overall carload volumes. While train accidents account for more than 15 percent of incidents, injuries and deaths are relatively rare, with about seven fatalities annually over the past decade. But the data show significant spikes when there is a major incident involving Amtrak or a commuter train.
Safer Railroading
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