Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF train wipes out RV in Rathdrum

The danger of a quiet zone crossing on double track was highlighted at 1pm this afternoon in Rathdrum, ID. Just after one train cleared the only level crossing in town and the gates raised up, a ATV and a RV started across. But shortly the gates descended due to a unseen train approaching on the opposite track. This caused the drivers to panic stop on the tracks and the train reduced the RV to debris. Driver of the RV escaped unharmed.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/18 21:10 by funnelfan.

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Scrrrratch one.

Ok so why didnt the gate stay down until both trains cleared? 

BAB Wrote:
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> Ok so why didnt the gate stay down until both
> trains cleared? 

Timming. Thats why. The first train cleared the circuit. Gates go up , lights stop flashing. Second train hits track circuit just after first train clears it. Gates and lights activate once more. RV driver did not react fast enough. Reasons he or she did not react, could be many. Who knows. Glad no one got hurt.

SantaFeRuss

So how did the quiet zone contribute? I fail to see that connection.

If the train was far enough away that the gates did not activate, the horn would not have been blowning.

Posted from iPhone

Inthehole Wrote:
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> So how did the quiet zone contribute? I fail to
> see that connection.
>
> If the train was far enough away that the gates
> did not activate, the horn would not have been
> blowning.
>
> Posted from iPhone

The OP seems to not like Quiet Zones and took the oppertunity to express his opinion.
And I agree, the Quiet Zone had nothing to do with the accident. Driver reaction did.

Driver 'lack' of action in this case. Froze up and da**ed near got killed.

Thius is why people driving RVs need to pass a commercial driver's license exam.  These "occasional" drivers have no clue how to drive a large vehicle albeti one or two times per season.  

The ATV avoided damage?

Has to be a frightening experience for everyone, including the train crew.

I wonder if the railroad will sue for damages?

Posted from Android

Is that the reason? I think not its all on the driver not the rig they drive think there are more CDL drivers that mess up at crossings than RVs from what I have seen on here right along with cars.So much for RV drivers but some are really against them am willing to bet they are not that good a driver either.

Oh and thanks SF Russ for the answer to my question.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/18 17:05 by BAB.

Looks like there is a hitch on the front of it was probalby being towed by the rv.
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> The ATV avoided damage?
>
> Has to be a frightening experience for everyone,
> including the train crew.
>
> I wonder if the railroad will sue for damages?
>
> Posted from Android

bnsf6606 Wrote:
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> Thius is why people driving RVs need to pass a
> commercial driver's license exam.  These
> "occasional" drivers have no clue how to drive a
> large vehicle albeti one or two times per
> season.  

While I agree that ALL vehicles over 25' in length or over 10,000 pounds in weight should have at least a Class B license, in this situation it appears that had NOTHING to do with the accident. How many cars/SUVs/vans/pickups end up in that situation?

BAB Wrote:
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> Looks like there is a hitch on the front of it was
> probalby being towed by the rv.
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The ATV avoided damage?
> >
> > Has to be a frightening experience for
> everyone,
> > including the train crew.
> >
SNIP

Thanks. I missed that.

Screw that! Gate is getting ran through. It'll be a whole lot cheaper to replace than a diesel pusher.

PHall Wrote:
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> Inthehole Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So how did the quiet zone contribute? I fail to
> > see that connection.
> >
> > If the train was far enough away that the gates
> > did not activate, the horn would not have been
> > blowning.
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> The OP seems to not like Quiet Zones and took the
> oppertunity to express his opinion.
> And I agree, the Quiet Zone had nothing to do with
> the accident. Driver reaction did.

Just a guess, but QZ could include 4 quad gates. It is possible that the driver was starting across when confronted with the gate on the opposite side. The natural reaction to the gate is to stop, probably overriding the natural reaction to keep going to clear the track. There is a delay in exit gate activation, but with a certain timing of events, the driver of a large RV atarting from a stop may be in the crossing in time to see the exit gate start. That is an inherent problem with exit gates. Intellectually, one might say just drive through, but the reaction to the situation may not produce the same result as thinking about it for a bit.

TAW

Per Google satellite, the Mill Street crossing has single gates on each side, and an elevated divider separating the lanes of traffic.  It's possible the driver of the long RV felt trapped, but it doesn't appear there were gates in front of the RV.  There may have been traffic ahead, waiting at what looks like a T intersection.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Per Google satellite, the Mill Street crossing has
> single gates on each side, and an elevated divider
> separating the lanes of traffic.  It's possible
> the driver of the long RV felt trapped, but it
> doesn't appear there were gates in front of the
> RV.  There may have been traffic ahead, waiting
> at what looks like a T intersection.

The Google image is single track - out of date.

TAW