Beverly, MA RR Crossing Fatality

A 14 year old boy was killed at a railroad crossing in Beverly Farms yesterday. He was hit by an MBTA Commuter rail locomotive going 55 mph. The crossing gate was down and the flashers were flashing. The details are in a Salem News article and can be read here at http://www.salemnews.com.

This tragic accident happened in the heart of HORN and BLAST country. These are two local citizen groups who are opposed to the use of horns at RR crossings in Beverly. They claim that their peace and quiet far out weighs safety. The MBTA currently does not blow their horns at crossings in Beverly. Maybe if the engineer was allowed to blow his horn at this crossing, a very young life would not have been lost.

Do you think that these two "groups" should be held liable for the untimely death of this child? Thoughts?

eriemike wrote:Do you think that these two "groups" should be held liable for the untimely death of this child? Thoughts?

That's a tough call. I once worked with someone who lived near a grade crossing used by commuter trains. He claimed the horns caused a lower quality of life ... stress caused by the noise. He fully supported a horn ban ... and he claimed to be a railfan, too.

He didn't have much sympathy for the "three drunks" that might not heed the warning of the flashing lights. We didn't discuss children in the guage.


I think there should be a requirement for communities where horn bans are in effect to pay for ongoing Operation Livesaver type presentations. Perhaps the NIMBY and 'anti' groups should pay for them? Perhaps if grade crossing safety was taught in schools, as it should be, this boy's life wouldn't have ended at a grade crossing.

My thoughts to the engineer and train crew. I'm pleased to see a quote from a fellow engineer, and references that the train crew will bear emotional scars from this accident. So often they are forgotten victims.

* JB *

I read a bit about this in the Globe this morning. It made me mad for a few reasons. One being that the boy blatantly rode through a flashing and dinging crossing. Second is that action will not be taken as far as investigations because the vehicle in question was a bike, NOT a car! THAT makes NO sence!

Well, not to me...

They say Beverly has the most grade crossings in the state, therefore they should be able to keep their whistle ban. If they want it that way, fine. But teach people that when a train hits a car, the train usually wins. When a train hits a person, the train ALWAYS wins.

If the T gets sued by the boy's parents, I hope they rake her over the coals (in a nice way), because the train wasn't at fault. Trains have the right of way at a crossing no matter what, and we need to get people to understand that and stop trying to "beat the train". How many of us have seen people drive around crossing gates? How about stopping on tracks while in traffic? No one follows the rules because no one is allowed to enforce them! No horns! No nothing!!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

Sorry, but this is a subject that gets me going. While I dislike any form of violent death, I can't help but feel the boy was totally at fault. The warnings of a train were there, other than a horn, but he decided he could ignore them. A shame. Lets hope it doesn't happen again any time soon...



(NOTE: This is all based on what I read this morning. Some facts I read may be incorrect)

No matter what the situation is, when the gates are down, you always wait till they go up. Even if the train was coming off a blind curve, still, obey all rules. These days, even diesel trains can pop on you faster than you think.

I'm pretty upset about how the HORN and BLAST groups complain about horns blowing in their niegbhorhood. The result is what you got yesterday! A lost life, even if it appears to be the boy's fault. You could debate that the blowing of the horn might not have made the difference in this case, but whose to say it wouldn't? It could have that one tiny thing that could have made the difference between life and death.

If HORN and BLAST were concerned about the noise, then why did they move near a railroad ROW. What did they expect? Nothing personal, Agent at Clicquot, but if your friend thought that horn blowing near his house lead to lower quality of life, then why did he move there? I would think that a lower quality of life would be a hell of a lot better than a lost life. Why should a railroad line that has been in continual use for approximately 170 years have to change its ways, especially the use of a safety device, just because it bristles at the gentile sensabilities of the NIMBYs who might live a fraction of that 170 years near that "rotton, dirty" railroad?!?!

That is a point I forgot to make. The railroad has been around a lot longer than the folks to complain about it. I have typed in the past how I feel about the town I live in, Belmont MA. They ban horns at Hill Crossing. Yet traffic is always backed up on the road, and it seems lots of people feel it is fine to just sit on the crossing tracks!

Have we as a whole lost our common sence?

Also, my boyfriend and I were discussing this topic over dinner last night. I didn't know the boy was 14 years old. I thought he was younger. But Todd says that a 14 year old boy tends to have tunnel vision. To him, beating the train and making his family wait for him on the other side of the tracks makes more sence than being safe. I don't know... I was never a 14 year old boy, but to get to 37, I guess he was. Would a blast from a loud horn have saved the boy? Hard to say in this case...

I just wish the powers-that-be in the railroad industry would speak up. Make waves. Wasn't there a time when the railroads had power? Didn't they used to have THE say in matters like this? Am I wrong?

JD

There were a few things in that article that made me mad:
1) The boy rode around the gates. It was a tragedy, but it was his fault.
2) The mayor stating that if the whistle ban were lifted, everyone would ignore the whistles because they'd happen so frequently.
3) Groups assertions that the whistles would destroy quality of life.

I'll address each of the above...

First of all, there is only so much we can do to protect people from their own desires to hurt themselves. That being said, a full horn blast from a nearby train is usually enough to startle someone. There's a big difference between hearing a whistle a mile away and hearing one that is a hundred feet away.

Points two and three are contradictory...don't you love it! The ban was brought about by people claiming they were disturbed by the whistles. The mayor then goes on to say that the ban should be kept because if it were lifted, people would just ignore the whistles. Well....If they're so easy to ignore, then just how disturbing are they?

Points two and three above remind me of the people who don't want transit expansion and simultaneously claim that it will cause gentrification and will cause property values to plummet. Hmm....how does that work? Do the values go up or down? They can't do both!

Gates were down, lights were flashing, individual chose to put himself in danger.

Most of us learned that lesson when we were about 6.

IIRC the last MA crossing fatality was a car that drove through flashing lights.

This should be cause for some reflection in Beverly, as a warning horn is a useful reminder of how close the train really is. Maybe they should close a few of their level crossings..

I wouldnt worry about the HORN and BLAST groups, Fedral law will shut them up next year when all trains will be required to BLAST their HORN at ALL crossings.

Focusing the blame is easy, if the kid is 6, then its the parents fault for leaving him/her alone. This kid was 14, knows better. He is fully at fault and with what he has put his parents, train crews, the town, and the railroad through, i dont feel bad. in the 6 seconds it takes a commuter rail train to go by i can wait for my life.

Lincoln78 wrote:IIRC the last MA crossing fatality was a car that drove through flashing lights.

This should be cause for some reflection in Beverly, as a warning horn is a useful reminder of how close the train really is. Maybe they should close a few of their level crossings..

Chelsea had one last year about this time, a girl his age died crossing the tracks at the Everett Ave. crossing.

Regarding the closure of crossings, that alot of times can not be done. I know that the ones in Chelsea(the same line, and the ones I am most familiar with) has closed every crossing possible and the five that remail are 1. important streets for traffic 2.important industrial streets for the city and the region and 3. cost prohibitive due to the reclaimed wetlands over whiche the line travels. I imagine that Beverley would have similar problems due to closing the crossings.

One point to remember is that even where whistle bans are in effect, they are allowed in cases of emergency. This adds a burden to the engineer - if somebody looks like they may disobey the lights, at what point do you sound the whistle? Too early and the town is on your butt for making noise. Too late, and there's a tragedy and some trial lawyer is trying to make it the engineer's fault for not recognizing an emergency.

If the boy had been alert and obeyed the protection, it would not have gotten to the "emergency" stage. Unfortunately that was not the case.

Another article from the Salem News reports the state has ordered trains to begin blowing at this grade crossing effective immediately. Most neighbors are OK with it but some still have a problem with it.

The mayor is complaining about it and compares trains blowing at every grade crossing to motorists blowing their horns at every intersection. There is someone who needs to see two cars collide at 25 mph and a train collide with a car at 55 mph. Maybe then he might understand (then again, probably not. Hey great idea, let the mayor sit inside each car so he can get the full experience!).

Maybe the mayor will also suggest the installation of stop signs for the trains at each of the crossings, just like at 25mph street intersections.

Here's a quote from today's Globe:

Grabauskas, chairman of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's board, declined to say if he will call during the meeting to lift whistle bans. He did say, ''Every study ever conducted over time, and maybe even time immemorial, shows that train whistles save lives. There's no question about it."

My personal philosophy is that killing a few kids every now and then to avoid inconvenience is just fine. After all, none of those Beverly residents asked for the trains to run through their town. They just woke up one morning and BAM! there were trains everywhere!

the people are the one's who chose to live near the RR tracks, and using the horn increases the saftey at RR crossings