see the following link for an interesting read
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Wow. While tragically a 13 year old boy lost his life, I don't see how this is Union Pacific's fault.
If I made it through the legalese correctly, there's going to be a follow-up legal action?
George
Yes, now it proceeds to jury trial to determine whether UP's negligence is less than the boy's. Or a settlement. The dissenting opinion is authored by two justices who were not plaintiff lawyers in their former life.
I was always told that one should not enter an intersection unless I could clear it safely. Thus includes pedestrian, bicycle, or auto.
The 13 year load did not yield ROW to the trains in the intersection. And the ROW is PRIVATE PROPERTY.
Maybe UP should ask the mother if the thing goes to trial if she taught her son about being safe. That is a JOB of a PARENT, right!
A sad event to be sure. If I read it correctly the crossing gates had never gone up as the first train was passing, were still down when the second train arrived at the crossing, and the boy deliberately went under/around the crossing gates which were still down?
I have seen the silent crossings in many locations now as residents in some municipalities do not want the train horn noise, where there is a barrier to prevent vehicles from going around the gates. Since there is no train horn used in these locations and a biker/pedestrian can easily go around/under the crossing gates, this case makes the RR fully liable if situation occurs at one of these crossings?
Well, at very least, we were able to stop procreation and perpetuation of stupid in one family branch.
BobbyD posted:A sad event to be sure. If I read it correctly the crossing gates had never gone up as the first train was passing, were still down when the second train arrived at the crossing, and the boy deliberately went under/around the crossing gates which were still down?
I have seen the silent crossings in many locations now as residents in some municipalities do not want the train horn noise, where there is a barrier to prevent vehicles from going around the gates. Since there is no train horn used in these locations and a biker/pedestrian can easily go around/under the crossing gates, this case makes the RR fully liable if situation occurs at one of these crossings?
A few years ago while at a train station on ns main line in n.c.I saw at a rr crossing which has two tracks.A north bound freight passing by.And just as the last boxcar of the north bound train cleared the crossing.A south bound freight on the other track came by.There where few autos at the crossing.But one one try to go across.Its was people who lived by these tracks.And knew trains do not go slow.This chase has a lot of sides here.I fell sorry the boy family.But why wasn't more careful around those tracks?Or did the kid not have his mind on what he was doing?
The reason that this lawsuit was filed is that the railroad has deep pockets. It would be no surprise if we were to learn that the plaintiff's pockets are shallow.
If the gates did not go up, and the light at the end of the gate was solid red, that is an "absolute stop" for traffic on the roadway: vehicles and bikes.
In TX, a bike is considered a vehicle. Is that true in NE?
bikes are required to follow the rules of the road just like vehicles
The gates were down and functioning properly. Done! That's all you need to know. The kid went around a stopped car and around the crossing gates that were down. This lawsuit should be thrown out the window. What a sorry state our legal system has become.
BobbyD posted:A sad event to be sure. If I read it correctly the crossing gates had never gone up as the first train was passing, were still down when the second train arrived at the crossing, and the boy deliberately went under/around the crossing gates which were still down?
I have seen the silent crossings in many locations now as residents in some municipalities do not want the train horn noise, where there is a barrier to prevent vehicles from going around the gates. Since there is no train horn used in these locations and a biker/pedestrian can easily go around/under the crossing gates, this case makes the RR fully liable if situation occurs at one of these crossings?
Train Operator still has the discretion to use horn in quiet zone.
