Passenger Trains > FL: another death on the BrightLine tracks

Third fatality in a month, second in Boynton Beach in less than a week. A 51 year old man was killed as he rode his bike across the tracks. The gates were down, signals functioning, according to the TV reports.

The usual suspects chimed in, with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) calling for an investigation, State Senator Debbie Mayfield (R-Vero) decrying the carnage on the rails. The mayor of Boynton Beach demanding a suspension of BrightLine service until it becomes safer.

The basic problem is people are walking across the tracks, and going around crossing gates. That's a frequent happening, in my experience. People think nothing of going around already down gates, I've seen it dozens of times. If they insist on doing this, they might want to calibrate a 79 mph train in place of a 45 mph freight.

BrightLine expressed sorrow at the loss of life, and its cooperation with the investigation. I'd like to see strict enforcement at crossings for a few weeks, with tickets handed out for violations. In Delray, there's now a fence along the right of way for two blocks along the bustling center of town, divided by the railroad.


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/breaking-employer-ids-man-killed-2nd-brightline-accident-days/9yGmlQ4vRwRPlIdf4BEpcN/

How is suspending Brightline service going to fix stupid? Just curious.

MdRailfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How is suspending Brightline service going to fix
> stupid? Just curious.

Uh ... it isn’t.

These politicians blaming the train strike me as absolute fools. Brightline, near as I can tell, is safe. It’s the people ignoring the signals who are unsafe.

If these folks ignored red lights and were hit by cars, would the mayor call for a halt to auto traffic until it could be made safer? Nope!

Posted from iPhone

Latest news update confirmed the cyclist went around the crossing gates.

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/update-police-say-man-pedaled-around-closed-train-gates-before-death/9yGmlQ4vRwRPlIdf4BEpcN/

Put a dozen police there with ticket books and fresh pens (or batteries in the electronic devices.) Let the word get out that about 1000 tickets were written and people MIGHT think about not violating the safety signals. Of course, if they did that, Senator Bill Nelson and State Senator Debbie Mayfield would be calling for another kind of investigation.

John

This problem might be self correcting after sufficient number of fools die off.

You're right. When the 58 freeway bypass was opened around Mojave several years ago we had several fatal crashes. After folks got used to it they disappeared.
They still drive like hell out there but they manage to not hit each other. The usual TC is some dimwit driving off the road or rear-ending an 18-wheeler at night.
58 from Boron to Barstow is FINALLY going to join the 21st Century with a project beginning Friday.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Alas, CalTrans plans to freewayize the Boron route and open up the desert to smog, death and development. Get your wild landscapes now! It will become just another Orange County

Darwinism always winnows out the impatient and the unintelligent.

-John

If Brightline can run parallel service to Tri-Rail's,
why can't we have Metra service, Kenosha to Milwaukee in conjunction with Amtrak's CHI-MKE line?

Typical politician...

Fla. Sen. Debbie Mayfield:

“My question to the corporate big wigs at Brightline is this: How many
lives must be lost before you own up to your corporate responsibility?”
Mayfield said after Wednesday’s death.

Yup - it's the evil and greedy business men that only care about money,
leaving the helpless citizens of FL to fend for themselves.

Maybe Brightline should sue the state and townships for not putting up
bigger signs next to the "Caution - Alligators in this Pond". Damn
politicians - how many lives must be lost before the government owns up
to its civic responsibility? Negligence for failure to send out notices
on what a railroad crossing gate is used for... who knew?

/Mitch


On the other hand, I would agree - someone should have been monitoring
crossings for a few weeks. Kind of wondering why they are not 4 quadrant
gates? Guess neither Brightline nor the city /state "cares".

KWH49 Writes, in part:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MdRailfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How is suspending Brightline service going to
> fix
> > stupid? Just curious.
>
> Uh ... it isn’t.
>
> These politicians blaming the train strike me as
> absolute fools.

Not fools, just agendized posturers trolling for re election votes. By placing the service ona ROW with way too many grade crossings, Brightline is serving them up election fodder on a silver platter.

Amazing, Senator Bill Nelson took some time off from finding Russians under every bed and in every closet to do something else stupid.

And (to paraphrase), what is one of the primary safety rules on a
railroad? "Expect a train on any track from any direction and at
any time."

The FEC mainline has been in place since the late 1800's. There is
absolutely no excuse that anybody didn't realize there were tracks,
that a train could be coming, etc., etc., etc.

Mgoldman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On the other hand, I would agree - someone should have been monitoring crossings for a few weeks. Kind of wondering why they are not 4 quadrant gates? > Guess neither Brightline nor the city state "cares".

My theory, Brightline politically set up by NIMBY politicians to fail.

mp51w Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If Brightline can run parallel service to
> Tri-Rail's,
> why can't we have Metra service, Kenosha to
> Milwaukee in conjunction with Amtrak's CHI-MKE
> line?

Because the folks in Wisconsin have never come up with the money to do so.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/18 06:59 by kevink.

Brightline did hire off duty deputies and local officers to stand by during the initial speed trials and signals / gates testing. Saw them many times, and spoke with a few.

Signals guy would get the radio message the test train was on the move. He would go over to the deputy, who would put on the vehicle's flashers, both would then walk over and secure the crossing against pedestrians / bikers /motorists who were perfectly ready to go around the gates.

Train whooshes by, gates go up, deputy goes back to the vehicle, turns off the flashers, and waits for the next train. A half hour later, the train comes by as they repeat the process.

billio Wrote:

> Not fools, just agendized posturers trolling for
> re election votes. By placing the service ona ROW
> with way too many grade crossings, Brightline is
> serving them up election fodder on a silver
> platter.

Respectfully disagree. Still fools. They’re blaming the railroad for having the unmitigated gall to exist, rather than people making poor choices at crossings.

Turns out the cyclist in this case rode around the gates. Sorry. He and he alone owns the consequences of his actions.

My original question stands: If he’d run a red light and been hit by a car, would the local politicians be calling for a halt to auto traffic?

Sen. Mayfield and her ilk need to shut it. Gates and lights are there for a reason.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/18 13:25 by KWH49.

These deaths will probably give some lift to Senator Mayfield's proposal for Florida regulation to supplement federal safety regulations. She has been trying to get BrightLine, Tri-Rail etc to install more overpasses at their expense for "high speed" trains.

Putting a few more deputies at the crossings would probably be much more effective in saving lives.

I know there is a gate, but we are also taught in driver ed that a flashing red light means the same as a stop sign.
So, is a flashing cross-buck merely interpreted by some to stop and proceed ?