Sacramento Train Crash Kills Three
The question is: should more gates or other precautions be erected at railroad crossings to protect drivers against themselves?
A driver on Jan. 28, annoyed with having to wait for a light rail train and two Union Pacific trains to pass, drove around the crossing gate to avoid waiting. The move killed the driver, his daughter and his grandson.
Some say it's not up to the railroad to protect people who don't follow the law. They are putting their own lives at risk.
Others, like Kathy Tescher, believes that, "Safety is our highest priority — even in these financially troubled times." Tescher is executive director of the North Franklin Business Association, a group representing 600 merchants near 26th Avenue in Sacramento.
"If you think about all the millions of dollars for instance the Golden gate authority spends on stopping people from jumping over the Golden Gate Bridge, this does make sense to us," Tescher told KTXL-TV.
Suggestions by the business merchant group include:
- Erecting lane barriers to prevent drivers from driving against traffic to go around the traffic gates.
- Putting a countdown clock at rail crossings so that drivers can know how much longer they will need to wait.
Other people, like Tony Mosqueda, said, "It's unfortunate. I feel bad for the family, but that's a human error. . .human error."
The business association has mailed a letter to Regional Transit, requesting more ways to control the crossing of cars at places like the train crash site and other train crossings in the city.
Regional Transit, which still is investigating the crash, has not yet responded to the letter sent by the association.
Source: FOX 40
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