Well it was gonna happen one day

Sadly it happens almost every day at some crossing or another.

From the description, I can't tell if it was a bad decision on his part or beyond his control, with a car in front of him stopping unexpectedly at the light, causing him to be stranded. If the light is that close, I can visualize the truck pulling across the track while the light is green and traffic ahead of him is on the move, then stops. He might not have used the best judgement by not waiting for a totally clear path across the tracks but it also It sounds like poor road design to me. Sometimes, the less information you have, the easier it is to cast judgement.

Look I live near this crossing all my life.You want more information alright.The seaboard air line rr tracks.Are at a angle there is a crossroad that has a stoplight.BTW keep in mind there signs saying to do stop on the tracks.The space from the stoplight to the tracks is about 5 cars or 1 bigrig and three cars.The same length with the other road.Now keep in mind that there is a airport a huge plastic factory and a few other industies.At certain time of day every that has to go this route.Trafic backs up and I have witness this myself.People stoping on the rr tracks.You would think a truckdriver seting that high up.And is able to see over other cars.Like I stated before this was bound to happen.Afer seeing different cars and trucks stoping on those tracks.Thankful no one was killed some were hurt up.

Yea but at least noone was killed.I don,t know what can be done about this.NS has a few crossing that has iron poles in the road. So people can,t go around the gates.

Sad...unfortunately it does happen all too often.

Chris

What about the Hess gasoline truck that got hit by Amtrak near(about 25 miles north of Miami FL) Ft. Lauderdale FL? That happened about 15 years ago, but you would think that people would have taken notice of that accident and not go onto a railroad crossing unless you can go to the other side.

Being a bus driver for a few years in 1990's, we had to stop at every railroad crossing, even in a 60 mile per hour zone! Truck drivers hauling hazardous materials, especially gasoline tankers, are required by federal law to stop at all railroad crossings.

It is trajic that people just can not follow rules! You ignore rules and somebody gets hurt.

Lee Fritz

Highway engineering enters into this, or lack of it....in Flagstaff, Arizona, a street

that served major motels and reached the Interstate T-boned into a major street that went downtown..ACROSS a major multi-tracked east/west rail route. (this is a major auto access to the GrandCanyon)  

Dunno what is there now, but a few years ago it was not uncommon to see a line of cars trapped across several tracks when the light changed quickly.  Locals learn these traps, but if you are not from the area......SURPRISE!

I got one that may top the lists of stupid engineering; a 6 way round-about with a train track through the middle of it, Stuart FL. Common sense would dictate that you don't put a train track through a traffic circle, but Stuart, a.k.a. Stupid FL did just that. The intersection is called "Confusion Corner" and confusion it is!

I used to drive bus in Stuart FL and nearly got hit head-on by a wrong way Jane, an elderly lady, in the traffic circle. My thoughts are; if people don't know how to go around a trafffic circle what will they do when a train comes?

Lee Fritz

Just like any intersection (road, RR tracks, etc)  you should not proceed into the intersection unless there is enough room for your vehicle on the other side.

For a daily example of what to do wrong come drive in Boston traffic. 

If you want fun in a traffic circle...drive them in the British Isles, going the "wrong way"..they can be fun in France, too...where the rule is, "the first car from the right

has the right of way", or maybe it is "the last car to leave home", or ?????  In the

York area, on U.S. 30, to and in Gettysburg, there are several "bloody roundabouts",

and in this little burg.  I drive back streets, usually, to streets with stoplights, to avoid it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBUxr6NG5A

cars already in the round about

have the right away.

they are popular in and around the

city of Indianapolis.

The thinking is that they keep

traffic moving with no stop signs.

Roundabouts are marvelous, simply marvelous.  Unfortunately, one in my locale was removed, because some smart (and I'm being facetious) drivers allegedly could not figure out who had the right of way.  Others, unfamiliar with the concept, insisted on driving into the fountain at the center of the roundabout with some regularity.  What a shame.

What, me worry?

You mean posting this stuff on the wrong forum?