Illinois Injury Law Blog

As our Chicago injury attorneys have noted in a prior posting to our Chicago Car Accident Lawyer blog, last summer Illinois was on a list of 10 states federally mandated to improve railroad crossing safety due to high numbers of fatal car accidents involving Illinois drivers and pedestrians.

Given that Illinois has the second largest rail system in the country and one of the more highly-trafficked road systems, that there are accidents between trains, vehicles and pedestrians is of little surprise to any of us.

With that said, after a four-year drop in fatal Illinois train-vehicle crashes, 2010 Illinois traffic crash statistics report a spike in both train-vehicle and train-pedestrian fatalities, reinforcing the need for more railroad safety protocols.

Last year, the Chicago Tribune reports, there were 17 train-vehicle fatalities reported between January and November and 10 incidents where pedestrians were fatally struck by trains. To address this increase, Operation Lifesaver and the Illinois Commerce Commission are introducing a series of English and Spanish-language public service announcements to remind Illinois motorists to never try to beat a train.

The ICC notes that Illinois has more than 7,200 miles of track that includes 10,883 public highway-rail crossings. The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that there are more than 10 million registered vehicles and more than 8.7 million licensed Illinois drivers who traveled more than 105 billion miles in 2009.

For Illinois drivers and State DOT authorities, the safety battle is as much about sharing road space as it is about constantly reminding drivers and pedestrians to be hyper-vigilant when approaching rail-and-road-system intersections.

Illinois train-vehicle crashes represent 1 percent of all fatal crashes reported in 2009, and claimed 11 lives and left another 128 people injured. Three fatalities – or 25 percent of fatal Illinois train-vehicle crashes – occurred at urban locations where a railroad gate was in place. The remaining 75 percent – or eight fatalities – happened at crossings on rural county and local roads where alternative railroad crossing indicators were identified.

Operation Lifesaver lists Illinois as fourth in the country for highway-rail grade crossing collisions, behind Georgia (3rd), California (2nd) and Texas (1st). The organization notes that a driver is 20 times more likely to die in a crash with a train than with another vehicle, and offers these tips to help keep Chicago drivers safe:

~ When approaching a rail-roadway intersection ALWAYS assume a train is coming even if you can’t see or hear one. Today’s trains are quieter and moving faster than you think. And, it takes much longer for a train to stop than a car or even a tractor trailer. A train traveling 55 m.p.h. requires more than a mile to come to a complete stop.

~ Railroad tracks are private property and 100 percent of the time trains have the right-of-way. So, walking along or stopping your vehicle on train tracks is legally trespassing (not to mention a safety hazard). Never walk (or stop your vehicle) on train tracks.

~ Trains are wider than the tracks by several feet, so stopping or standing NEXT to the track is just as dangerous as being on the track.

~ A train can weigh anywhere from 400,000 pounds to 6,000 tons; a car weighs a fraction of that amount. An impact between a train and a car is equivalent to a car striking a soda can.

Continue reading "Motorists at continued risk of Chicago car accidents involving railroad crossings" »

A 93-year-old driver remains in the hospital after crashing his car into a Metra train in Northbrook on Monday. The car was cut in half and came to rest in two pieces alongside Dundee Road. Investigators believe the driver somehow circumvented the crossing gate, which was down with signals flashing at the time of the Chicago car accident, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Just last week a 17-year-old Taft High School sophomore was struck and critically injured after he ran across the tracks at Northwest Hwy. and Nagel Ave. with a group of friends. According to the Chicago Tribune, students frequently race across the tracks whether the caution lights are flashing or not. From 2005 to 2009, there have been six Chicago vehicle-train accidents at Nagel, which is considered one of the most dangerous crossings within a six-county Chicago region.

In March, a 34-year-old woman and the one-year-old child were killed after being struck while crossing the tracks in front of an inbound Metra commuter train in North Chicago, WGN-9 reports.

In a separate story, WGN-9 reports that Metra engineers have been cited in at least two derailment incidents between 2003 and 2005 that killed two and injured more than 160. At least $30 million has been awarded in separate verdicts to injured passengers.

Operation Lifesaver is a non-profit organization that aims to reduce the incidents of collision, fatalities and injuries at rail crossings and along train tracks through public awareness campaigns. They offer the following safety tips for drivers:

FOR DRIVERS:
~ Never stop on a train track, once you enter a crossing, keep going – even if lights are flashing and gates come down. With that said, NEVER drive around downed crossing gates.

~ Treat every rail crossing as if a train were approaching whether you see one or not. Never assume you have the right-of-way. If you do stop at a rail crossing, be sure you are at least 15 feet from the nearest rail.

~ If your car stalls out or gets stuck on a train track, get everyone out of the vehicle immediately and walk in the direction of the train at a 45-degree angle until you have put considerable distance between yourself and the track. Remember, trains travel at rates of speed up to and in excess of 60 m.p.h. and can take more than a mile to stop. In short, debris from a vehicle-train accident can and will travel a surprising distance. To avoid being struck by crash fallout, get away from the track.

~ Once you have gotten a safe distance from the track, call 911.

Of course, pedestrians should ONLY cross tracks at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings. They should NEVER attempt to out-run an approaching train, or use a train track as a walk path.

Continue reading "Chicago train accidents endanger drivers, pedestrians, passengers" »

A Chicago railroad crossing accident forced a trucker to bail out of his rig on Monday morning. The truck became wedged on the tracks, with traffic both in front and behind him, when an approaching train forced him to run for his life.

The crossing at Nagle Avenue near Avondale Avenue is on the Northwest Side and was featured that same day on the front-page of the Chicago Tribune as one of the area's most dangerous. This week's crash is the sixth in as many years at the busy intersection.

The state rail safety office said the crossing was being operated by the Illinois Department of Transportation, which reported that the City of Chicago is responsible for the intersection's operation.

Other dangerous railroad crossings in the area include 119th Street west of I-57 and Chestnut and Lehigh avenues in Glenview.

Earlier this month, The Federal Railway Administration put Illinois on a list of 10 states with the highest number of railroad crossing accidents. The states must produce a plan to improve railroad crossing safety by August 2011. Seventy-eight Illinois railroad crossing accidents were reported last year.

Illinois officials pin the blame for the high number of accidents on the fact that the state has the second-highest number of crossings in the nation, after Texas. Comparing states based on the number of collisions per-vehicle traveled would place Illinois 34th.

The federal government rejected that methodology and has ordered the state to submit a plan to improve crossing safety. The Illinois Commerce Commission reports that 16 people were killed and 40 were injured in crossing accidents in the last year.

Continue reading "Motorists at increased risk for railroad crossing accidents in Chicago " »