conrail_engineer wrote:All this to protect people who willfully do not WANT this protection; who see the flashers and gates and decide they value a few minutes more than their own lives.
OK, this has no bearing on anything.
Consider - a vehicle is starting to cross a double track crossing as the gate starts to decend - this is PERFECTLY legal, as it should be. (Note, I am not saying the gate is already down, or significantly down - it begins to descend as the vehicle is entering the crossing zone).
If this is a four quadrant crossing - the gate on the other side MUST allow for this vehicle to safely exit the crossing (of course, with half gates this is not an issue). What I wish to know is how is this done, either in the US or other countries. I can only think of sequencing the gate closings so the near side gate goes first (either a cross bar, or those fence like gates which decend across the road in tracks, like a garage door), and then the far side gate somewhat later.
Remember we are talking about realistic safety solutions, not random silliness. OK, realizing that total grade separation of everything except the most minor industrial spurs is still unrealistic, so far I like half gates w/ median barriers for low-traffic lines, and quadrants for high volume line - AND smart crossing gate timing controls (basing gate closing start on the expected arrival of the train) - having traffic idling for no visible reason is a waste of time and energy, and really pisses people off...and yes, that is an extremely important consideration, and one which must be addressed.
Dave, you're from Kiwi-land (the correct Maori name, not Aotearoa as is often thought) and not the 'West Island', correct? Then you are not allowed to be in this safety discussion, considering the 1-lane bridges with 'street running' track found on the South Island... :p