Brightline Grade Crossing Incidents

Grade Crossing Wreck in Pompano Beach, 11-8-21

Woman, grandson in car struck by Brightline train in Pompano Beach. The Father of the toddler says he has ‘miracle baby’ after boy survived crash

The car turned onto the tracks.

Brightline has a lot of at-grade crossings in busy areas , except the rail under construction from Cocoa to Orlando. They're upgrading every crossing imaginable it seems, but without plastic stick bollards.

Need to idiot proof this by putting gates across the tracks that close when the intersection is open to car traffic, then open when the normal gates close.

The best idiot proof is not to grant idiots licenses to drive.

It has been reported on all the local news media (and nearby security camera video seems to confirm this) that the driver attempted to make a u-turn to get off the tracks. I would speculate that she stopped on the tracks (maybe traffic ahead that should have made her stop before entering the railroad right-of-way), and when the crossing protection activated, she tried to escape by making the unsuccessful u-turn.

Jim

Do high schools still offer driver's ed? Required or elective? (If elective I assume everybody takes it, since it has to be the easiest A in the curriculum -- and the homework is fun.) If so, is there much emphasis on the need to wait on the near side until there's room for you on the far side? Many crossings have signs, but they're disregarded all the time.

I don't have any specific information, but there have been cases where a GPS has told people to turn and they turned onto the tracks instead of the following intersection.

Using Mr. Google I've turned into someone's driveway instead of the road 50 feet further. So additional visual clues are needed for the clueless.

R&DB wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:19 am I don't have any specific information, but there have been cases where a GPS has told people to turn and they turned onto the tracks instead of the following intersection.

There have been documented cases of this actually causing grade-crossing accidents, particularly in situations where a road crosses the tracks just before an intersection. I know of one that happened here, for instance, on MN's Harlem Division: https://goo.gl/maps/ys6mHphMqRBSrtpk9

GPS ??? What happens if it becomes unreliable? .Hopefully the Russian ASAT test does not screw up LEO GPS satellites ? Fortunately there are some in higher orbit.

electricron wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 3:28 pm

BandA wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:49 pm Need to idiot proof this by putting gates across the tracks that close when the intersection is open to car traffic, then open when the normal gates close.

The best idiot proof is not to grant idiots licenses to drive.

Lack of a license won't stop idiots from driving.

A flashing sign, "do not turn onto tracks," wouldn't hurt my feelings.

With one of those special lenses or baffles where you can only see the sign from certain angles so as not to distract normal drivers.

Good point !

LIRR added vertical markers on each side of the tracks (less useful with more than 2 tracks) to make it harder to turn onto tracks. Supposedly they have worked well.