The Automobile and Crossing Accidents.
—To the automobile is attributed much of the increase. And to careless, indifferent and reckless driving the greater per cent of it. The railways have made numerous counts which show the carelessness of the people at railway crossings. Those given below are typical of them all.
In December, 1913, St. Louis:
| Per Cent | |
|---|---|
| Stopped and looked in both directions—pedestrians | 1 |
| Kept moving and looked in both directions (of all pedestrians, vehicles, teams and autos) | 2 |
| Kept moving and looked in one direction | 7 |
| Kept moving and looked straight ahead | 91 |
| (on a total of over 30,000 individual movements) |
On the Baltimore and Ohio, Southwest, 1914:
| Per Cent | |
|---|---|
| Stopped and looked both directions | 5 |
| Kept moving and looked in both directions | 13 |
| Kept moving and looked in one direction | 18 |
| Kept moving and looked straight ahead | 69 |
In California, 1913:
| Per Cent | |
|---|---|
| Stopped and looked in both directions | 0.2 |
| Kept moving and looked in both directions | 35 |
| Kept moving and looked in one direction | 7 |
| Kept moving and looked straight ahead | 58 |
The California Railway Commission in 1917 tested 17,000 motor vehicle drivers:
| 27.8 | per cent looked both ways |
| 2.7 | per cent looked only one way |
| 65.5 | per cent looked neither way before crossing. |
A Southern Pacific Railway folder gives these figures for automobile accidents during the period from January 1 to August 1, 1917, taken from the figures of eighteen railroads:
| Total number of accidents | 769 |
| Trains striking autos | 426 |
| Autos striking trains | 112 |
| Autos running through crossing gates | 143 |
| Accidents at protected crossings | 766 |
| Accidents at unprotected crossings | 3 |
| Accidents at night | 168 |
| Accidents during daylight | 540 |
| Persons injured | 515 |
| Persons killed | 99 |
The fact that practically all these accidents occurred at protected crossings would seem to indicate that most people trust the railway to look out for them, and do not assume any individual responsibility. It is to be noted, also, that those who did not look either way are in the majority in every count. Also the number of automobiles that run into trains is about one-fourth as many as those that try but fail to get by in front of the train.
Enough has been said to prove this to be an important item in the vital and financial economies of the nation. The question then is, what is the remedy? No specific can be given but relief, partial, may be secured.
(1) Eliminate grade crossings as rapidly as possible. For this a coöperation between public and railroad by legislation might be fair. Some States already do this going “fifty-fifty” on the expense.
(2) By combining public roads, that is vacating some, changing others by relocation following along the railroad rather than cross over the track twice as may be necessary if section lines be followed. Frequently the shortening of the distance and betterment of grades will pay for the improvement.
(3) By taking advantage of natural features in the location of new lines of road and railway, and the relocation of old, to avoid grade crossings. This has been done to a considerable extent in the more recent locations.
(4) By proper location and construction details:
(a) Sharp angles in crossing should be avoided. The crossing should be made as nearly at right angles to the track as possible. Flat easy curves can usually be made to lead up to the crossing to accomplish this. Secure an angle greater than 60° if possible. Catching wheels in the flangeways or slipping along the track is common when the angle is sharp. Also a view of the track to the rear is difficult.
(b) Steep grades near the track should be avoided. In Kansas and Colorado the rule is for a level grade for 20 feet from the track. It would be better to have this read “not steeper than a 2 per cent grade downward from the track for at least 40 feet.” The roadway would by this slight slope of not more than 2 feet in 100 feet be better drained and therefore would keep in better condition. Level roads are liable to hold water in the ruts and depressions softening them and the railway track as well. A definite rule should not be made, for circumstances alter cases. The rails are not always level. If the track is in curve at point of crossing one rail will be superelevated above the other. If the track is in cut, or half cut, it may require different treatment than if in fill. The following sketches will illustrate this.
Steep grades at a crossing should be avoided. The grade of the highway must conform to the elevation of the rails.
(c) For the same reason the road should have a crown, the amount depending on the type, earth, sand-clay, and gravel roads from 1⁄2 to 1 inch per foot of width, concrete, asphalt, brick and other hard surfaces may have less.
(d) Clear vision for several hundred feet from the roadway along the track should be secured if possible. This may often be done by the removal of brush and weeds and the trimming of trees. During certain seasons of the year cornfields may obstruct the view from some little distance down the road, but if there is a comparatively level stopping place near the crossing the driver ought to be able to slow down his machine, to have it under thorough control, so that it could be stopped quickly and far enough away from the track for safety, while he looks both ways along the track. A little coöperation between railroad and farmer may result in the planting of low growing crops where the view would be obstructed by the high growing corn. The farmer might also be willing to have hedges trimmed low and trees trimmed high in such localities. In some states the laws provide for the annual trimming of trees and hedges near railway crossings.
(e) The railways at the request of the road officers will usually arrange the rails so that no joint will come upon the crossing, thus keeping both road and track in better condition.
Safety turn at a railway crossing.
(f) The building of a right-hand turn along the railway track at each crossing on to which the motorist seeing that he could not pass ahead of the train or stop his car could drive. See the figure above.
(5) Drivers when they see a train approaching should make it a point to stop at least 100 feet away from the track. If a flying stop is made right near the track the engineman will be at a loss whether to apply the air for the train to stop or take a chance of hitting the vehicle. Enginemen will appreciate a little courtesy of this kind. Also it will be much easier to get a start to make the grade over the crossing if a longer distance is allowed.
(6) Markers indicating the approach to a railroad crossing placed 300 feet back will serve as a caution warning. A good many states are providing their highways with standard markers. In Illinois certain crossings are designated with a stop sign and it is a misdemeanor to go over without first coming to a full stop. In another state the law requires a stop at all crossings and a ditch, or “thank-you-ma’am” practically enforces the law.
(7) Automatic electrically driven gongs, bells, colored disks, waving arms, or red lights are expedients in quite common use.
(8) Crossing gates and watchmen are used where the traffic is heavy. They are expensive and railroads like to avoid them wherever possible. On Long Island it is said light gates were run down by the motorists. Very heavy gates are said to have proven more efficacious.
(9) Locomotives should be equipped with whistles and bells sufficiently penetrating to be easily heard by drivers of moving automobiles. Mr. Byron Clark, Chief Counsel of the Burlington railway west of the Missouri River, called the author’s attention to what he believes to be a fact, namely, that automobilists when traveling at a rapid gait do not hear the locomotive whistle which the state law and the railway rules require to be sounded before each crossing. Since my attention has been called to this matter I have watched it quite closely and believe Mr. Clark to be right. Frequently I hear the engine bell but not the whistle. It might be well to experiment with whistles and bells of various types. Is there a difference in the audibility of high-pitched and low-pitched whistles and bells?
(10) But no matter what mechanical devices there are, how carefully the enginemen obey the law about whistling, or how vigorously the watchman swings his signal, lack of care on the part of the driver will be productive of accidents. Before they can be avoided or even decreased materially it will be necessary for the people generally to come to a full understanding that they owe it to themselves, to the public and to the nation to be careful. Life and accident insurance is only a method of spreading the cost of loss due to death and accident over a larger number. The economic loss to the people as a whole is just as great whether there is or is not any insurance. An accident is always an economic waste. “A careful man is the best safety device known.”