Major grade-crossing accident in Valhalla 2/3/15

So .... anything more about the incident?

Dutch wrote:
[[ all great idea's, are they workable ? maybe. will they be done ?? not in our lifetime .
again this accident was perfect storm. ]]

Agreed.

32-year railroad engineman here.

Ain't gonna happen, with the possible exception of in a very few leftist communities...

Already happening for fifteen years:

Chicago Tribune May 26, 2000
On Monday night, Sgt. James Bedell of the Naperville Police Department turned on some new equipment that monitors whether motorists are crossing railroad tracks illegally on River Road. "We had 10 the first night," he said. "It was a lot more than I expected."

Bedell knows the license plates of the vehicles that either went under the gates as they were coming down or around the lowered gates. That's because information from the monitoring equipment is recorded in Bedell's computer so the Police Department can issue traffic tickets. News link

There are a number of businesses ready to install the systems. One is SafeTrax:

SafeTrax Railroad Crossing Enforcement
SafeTrax™, ATS’ railroad crossing safety and enforcement system, uses the RLC-300 camera system specifically customized for a railroad grade crossing. Interfacing directly with trains and gate detection systems, SafeTrax™ detects trains and captures images of vehicles that illegally attempt to cross the tracks after the lights, bells or gates are activated.

• 100% compliant with all local, county, state and federal laws
• Dynamic back office providing violation verification and remote maintenance

ATS has established a close working relationship with the Union Pacific Railroad company for photo enforcement systems along its rail lines. Vendor link

It might depend on the state. Maine law prohibits the state or municipalities from prosecuting motorists based on speed or stoplight cameras. But Pan Am signal maintainers installed video cameras at some (possibly all) crossings along the route when Amtrak's Downeaster was extended from Portland to Brunswick. All the locations I'm aware of had or were upraded with gates. I don't know if that was "an FRA thing," or a CYA move by one or both railroads.

For some Maine violations including passing a stopped school bus and disobeying a public safety traffic flagger, the registered owner is presumed to be the operator. Those are two other potential life-safety situations where there might only be "the time and the location of the violation and the registration plate number and a description of the vehicle involved" provided to the investigating officer. Those laws provide four defenses for the registered owner, but otherwise, they're liable. I think that could work for ignoramus behavior at grade crossings, too.

I don't know of any "laws against self-incrimination." If there were such a thing, there wouldn't be any cameras at ATMs and elsewhere. No one should have much reasonable expectation of privacy when they're out motoring around on the public ways.

Will this car ever be returned to service? I assume that it won't be, the fire damage looks extremely severe. What will happen to its mate?

It will be kept "as is" untill the Legal Dept releases it,then most likely scrapped.

the second car will be in storage till another mate is found (needed), since M-7 is out of production you will probably see addition to M-9 order for Metro North.

Driver’s family faults MTA for deadly Metro-North crash

The family of the Westchester mom who sparked a massive crash when she drove her SUV in front of a packed commuter train blames the MTA for the accident, according to a new report. Ellen Brody, 49, drove her Mercedes-Benz ML350 onto the railroad tracks in front of a commuter train in February, killing herself and five commuters. The lawyer for Brody’s family told the Journal News that they had filed a notice of claim — and asserted the crash was not their mom’s fault.

Um... what?

Not discounting that the grieving process makes people a bit more ... emotional .... than normal, but this is just... not a decision you make lightly, and IMO is foolish given the established facts on the accident. Doesn't change that it sucks that ANYONE died in this, just wonder if they gave it as much thought as they should have.

They have to sue all involved if they want to sue, even if they want to just sue Mercedes Benz for shift lever,
they need to sue MTA, state, town, crossing manufacturer, FRA, etc etc just to get at the litigation trough.
welcome to dysfunctional US judiciary system , were only lawyer really win.

DutchRailnut wrote:They have to sue all involved if they want to sue, even if they want to just sue Mercedes Benz for shift lever,
they need to sue MTA, state, town, crossing manufacturer, FRA, etc etc just to get at the litigation trough.
welcome to dysfunctional US judiciary system , were only lawyer really win.

The only thing surprising here is that it took this long for the suits to be filed. The families of the other victims should similarly pursue judgement against the driver's estate.

I think they did , in NY you have to file within 90 days.

It is all about the money…the MTA, the county, the village, the car manufacturer all have the deep pockets.

To sue just the SUV driver's estate…probably not much money there…

However, once the NTSB's final report is issued, the story may change…

As far as I know, the results of toxicology tests have NOT been released to the public…

If it turns out that the SUV driver was high on something that day, it will be a different story...

At what point it becomes cheaper for the MTA to pay up and grade separate at least the most dangerous crossings? I can imagine that the bill so far exceed $5MM when the destroyed cars, first responders, bus bridges and labour for track repair are included. By the time the lawyers are all done and judgements or settlements are agreed upon, it will probably be at least $10-12M total. Could they built an overpass and close 1-2 neighbouring crossings for that money?

each overpass is $100 million according MTA board meeting. and with over 27 crossings left on Harlem a very expensive resolution.

DutchRailnut wrote:each overpass is $100 million according MTA board meeting. and with over 27 crossings left on Harlem a very expensive resolution.

Wow, that is EXPENSIVE. You are right though. It appears that each grade separation of the Alameda East Corridor in California is about that amount.