Railroad crossings can be made safer

We mourn the loss of Rose Tani, a vibrant and wonderful lady that raised a nice and loving family. Her son, as most know, is an astronaut who was in space when the accident occurred. She foolishly drove around a stopped school bus into the opposite lane of traffic and then around downed railroad crossing gates. Her car was struck by the locomotive of a freight train and she was killed.

Sadly, she was one of about 7,000 people that have been killed over the last 10 years in railroad accidents. Many died when either they or someone else drove around downed gates. In fact, in the last 10 years there have been over 20,000 accidents at public grade crossings.

In most cases we can easily prevent people from going around downed railroad gates. There are some basic and inexpensive ways of doing so. One way is to install median separation devices extending from the gate and for about 100 feet. This will prevent drivers from switching lanes and going around the downed gates.

Some years ago, in lieu of trains blowing their whistles at quiet crossings, the Federal Railroad Administration requested that these median separation devices be installed as one of the alternative safety measures that can be put into play. After about 10 years of fighting political pressures, the FRA has dragged its feet in mandating that such safety measures be put into place.

In the meantime, many communities have done nothing to make their crossings safer. Elizabeth Street in Lombard, where this accident occurred, could easily and inexpensively have median separation devices just before the crossing gates.

Preventing someone from doing something foolish at railroad crossings is fairly easy to do, it is not rocket science.

George Swimmer

Downers Grove