blind railroad intersection

i am driving from a sidestreet onto a main roadway. safety protocol dictates a stop before crossing the railroad tracks, but !do not! stop while the truck is on the tracks. the problem is that the driver !cannot! see cross-traffic approaching from a distance and by the time the truck is crossing the tracks, then traffic is seen (possibly) on a collision course. now i'm faced with a catch22: if i stop to avoid a collision with a car (or motorcycle or another truck), then i am forced to provide for a collision with a train (far less likely to happen yet far more likely to be fatal to me)

the location is: escalon, ca (7 miles nnw of ripon,ca) leaving eckert cold storage, eastbound on clough road, turning left onto nothbound mchenry av.

i am forced to choose between a collision with a car or a collision with a train

for those in the know, this would be an unavoidable collision

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• updot
• train
• railroad
• truck
• car
• motorcycle
• collision
• accident
• avoid
• avoidance
• catch22

[L324RT12]

Thats a bad X-ing. I work for the RR & that one would make me pucker. Where is this located??

[BigLittleEnvy]

i come across these x-ings too often (about 1ce a week) would it really hurt the RR and the city to put in a light? it's not worth the risk to make the trucker cross like that!

the other day, i had a car pull right in front of me just as i proceeded across the RR trax; had to slam on my brakes and (almost) stopped on the trax

[charlieb640]

Would it hurt the railroad? Well, actually. Yes. Crossing signals cost hundreds of thousands of dollars plus annual maintenance.

I suggest putting a truck driver toll in place so that they can safely cross. In that way the taxpayer and the railroad doesn't have to pay. Ultimately the shipper of the goods absorbs the cost. I bet you love that idea.

[BigLittleEnvy]

if it saves one life, it'd be worth it, right?!

[mrmaster728]

four wheelers do not have any idea what its like to drive a sleeper cab with a fifty three foot trailer. I laugh at these people when they think its a big deal to haul a little boat trailer.

[BigLittleEnvy]

"big deal to haul a little boat trailer"

i know, then there's those who think they know it all and they're all aver the road with their 10' wide trailers. i knew a "professional driver" would understand!

[Boss302fan]

That is because railroading and the history of railroading is dramatically different that it is here in the US.

No "idiot" designed it. The railroad was built. Later a road was built running parallel. Then a road was built that intersected the main road and crossed the railroad.

There are tens of thousands of crossings in the US, Canada, Mexico, South America and China just exactly like this one.

[theschizoidman]

what idiot designed that? in japan, we have crossings everywhere. never have i seen such a dangerous crossing as this one here. never.

[dieselducy]

NICE pete but that looks like a VERY dangerous intersection!!

[mrmaster728]

good point, i thought you were being serious. My bad.

[Boss302fan]

Actually I'm not a fool. Nor a dumb car driver. I was being cynical. BigLittleEnvy wrote that wouldn't spending hundreds of thousands of dollars be worth saving one life on a crossing upgrade.

My point was if it boils down to just dollars and cents, reducing truck weight and length would also save dollars.

Neither option is practical. The economy now depends on big trucks, and it depends on a healthy railroad system.

[mrmaster728]

you're an uneducated fool aren't you? Limit trucks to 50 and 30000 pounds. Its because of dumb car drivers like yourself why accidents happen all the time.

[Boss302fan]

Actually, if trucks were limited to 50 mph and 30000 pounds it would save thousands of lives annually.

Worth it. Right?

Perhaps the gates at this location could be paid for by truck drivers who want to cross another business's property. I could see a situation where you would get out, insert your credit card and contribute a few hundred dollars toward the cost of the crossing.

To be honest, as a taxpayer I do not want to bear that cost of upgrading the property. You pay it.

[charlieb640]

The issue is "who pays" and not necessarily is it worth it.

Personally I don't want my tax dollars going toward it and as the railroad was there first it should be there responsibility.

Therefore BigLittleEnvy, I nominate you. Crossing gates and coordinated traffic lights run around 200k. So, waltz down to the local community and write a check. Then on a regular basis go out and inspect the lights and gates to ensure they work.

Hey. It saves a life. Worth it. Right?