Washington – The Federal Railroad Administration on Jan. 7 released model legislation for states to use in developing bills to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings.
According to a press release, the model legislation, which was required by the Rail Safety Improvement Act, is intended to help states address obstructions limiting a driver’s view of an oncoming train. Incident reports submitted to FRA show that between 2001 and 2005, 689 collisions occurred at highway-rail grade crossings with sight obstructions. The collisions resulted in 242 injuries and 87 fatalities.
