Railroad Crossing Accidents
The Hershewe Law Firm, P.C. offers legal advice to victims of railroad crossing accidents and provides free consultations. The Hershewe railroad accident attorneys in Oklahoma know railroad crossings are dangerous. The Federal Railroad Administration classifies collisions at railroad crossings as highway-rail accidents. Highway-rail accidents are any impact between a train and a highway user (motor vehicle, bicycle, motorcycle, pedestrian, etc.), at both public and private crossings. In 2008 in the United States, the FRA recorded:
- 2387 highway-rail accidents, resulting in
- 285 deaths and
- 930 injuries.
More shocking, however, is the statistic that although highway-rail incidents represented fewer than 20 percent of all reported railway accidents, these crossing accidents accounted for over 90% of all railroad accident fatalities. Family cars, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians are no match for trains pulling tons of freight.
In Oklahoma, about 500 railroad accidents in the state between 2000 and 2007 involved train-vehicle collisions. This kind of accident, which can result in devastating personal injury or death, usually takes place at railroad crossings without flashing lights or gates, marked only by cross ties. Nearly two thirds of railroad deaths in Oklahoma involve locomotive collisions with cars.
Because both federal and Oklahoma state law require that railroad companies clearly mark crossings, maintain them, and put up such warning signals and safety devices as the local municipality requires, the companies often blame accident victims for collisions.
The Hershewe Law Firm believes that early and careful investigation of Oklahoma railroad accidents by qualified personal injury and wrongful death attorneys is important. It is true that many injuries and deaths at railway crossings are caused by driver and pedestrian inattention and various types of trespassing on railway property:
- Not stopping, looking and listening before moving across railroad tracks
- Walking or playing on the tracks
- Playing chicken with trains
- Trying to get across tracks before engines to avoid a long wait for trains to pass
- Underestimating the proximity or speed of oncoming engines
- Deliberately ignoring or circumventing safety devices at crossings
Please teach your children respect for railroads and railroad equipment. Obey Oklahoma motor vehicle law regarding railroad crossings and right of way.
Risk of injury or death at a railroad crossing is often made great by the construction and maintenance of the crossing itself.
Deteriorating rail beds and tracks, malfunctioning warning lights and barrier arms and overgrowth of vegetation and other sight obstacles are all the responsibilities of a railroad company. Under Oklahoma law, if a railroad company fails to maintain a crossing, then a municipality may order and make repairs itself and bill the railroad company, so accidents caused by unsafe crossings may possibly be attributed to the negligence of not just the railroad company.
Railroad personnel are sometimes at fault for:
- Failing to obey Oklahoma railway law regarding speed limits at crossings
- Failing to obey Oklahoma law regarding use of horns or whistles as warning signals
- Operating an engine while using a personal communication device, or being sleepy, or even using drugs
If you or a loved one obey the law and are injured in a highway-rail collision because of the fatigue, inattention or negligence of a railroad employee or the poor planning and maintenance of a railroad crossing, contact a personal injury lawyer who specializes in Oklahoma railroad law. Contact The Hershewe Law Firm, P.C.
If you would like a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys, call us toll-free at 877-382-9734, or complete our web form.
