DutchRailnut wrote:amm in ny wrote:Clean Cab wrote:traffic laws in all states require all vehicles to "Stop. Look & Listen" at all railroad crossings so labled.
The crossing in question does not appear to be so labeled, judging from the photograph.
The sign does not state "stop look Listen" but the Connecticut Motor vehicle rules sure do:
... Stopping at grade crossings. (a) An operator of a motor vehicle shall bring his or her motor vehicle to a full stop at a railroad grade crossing when warned of an approaching locomotive or a train by a law enforcement officer or flashing lights erected at such grade crossing pursuant to an order of the Commissioner of Transportation and shall refrain from passing over such crossing until the approaching locomotive or train has passed such crossing....
Your quote does not address my question.
My understanding of CleanCab's comment about "stop look and listen" was that there were crossings where motorists were required to stop, etc.,
regardless of whether there were any flashing lights, etc., and that these were indicated by a sign with the words "stop look and listen." Your quote only refers to the situation when the crossing signal is flashing/sounding or a law enforcement officer is stopping traffic, in which case the duty (& necessity!) to stop is pretty obvious.
So, a question of fact: is there a (legal) distinction between crossings which have the words "stop look [and] listen" and ones that don't?
2. The motorist says that the lights were not flashing and the bell was not ringing when she entered the grade crossing. If she is correct (and the other witness's report supports her claim), this section of the law would not apply. I don't think anyone in this thread is arguing that one does not have a duty to stop when the crossing signals are flashing & sounding or when the gate is down or coming down. Or that proceeding when lights are flashing or a gate is down or coming down isn't downright stupid.
Executive Summary:
1. The only actual facts about this accident come from the one news article. and that article raises doubts as to whether the signals were in fact flashing when the driver passed them. Nobody on this thread knows any more about what actually happened, so claims that are not supported by the news story are just so much huffing and puffing, as are arguments based on such claims.
2. The only other interesting question, IMHO, is whether the driver had a duty to stop and look for a train
even if the signals weren't flashing. (The question raised by CleanCab.) If her vehicle was a "commercial vehicle" under CT law (which we do not know), then she did (as per DutchRailnut.) If it wasn't, I don't know.