i feel like it’s that people assume a train has the same stopping distance as like, a honda
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Either that or the train will miraculously swerve around them…
If you’ve ever driven in Florida, you’ll come to terms that the people there don’t know how to drive. The drivers make the rules down there, and there’s little to no enforcement of any rules the state may have. Another issue is that there’s a lack of common sense to know that you should stay off the tracks. A lot of the incidents were due to people walking the tracks and getting hit.
You may hear about collisions and fatalities elsewhere, but I don’t think anywhere else has had as many in such a short period as Brightline has had, which just shows that they think that they can beat the train, or there’s just a lack of common sense with stopping at railroad crossings or knowing that you should stay off railroad tracks.
Keep in mind this:
Recent data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) found that 1,020 people were killed on America’s railways last year (2023) Of those, 95% of all deaths on America’s railways were as a result of people trespassing on tracks or at level crossings across the country.
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lacerated motorists?
that’s largely not what’s at play here…
But drivers account for relatively few of the fatalities. The Herald/WLRN found that only 24 people — or 13% — were in cars.
Pedestrians are most at risk. The luxury-priced train runs through urban centers, bar districts and neighborhoods. Of the 182 dead, 158 were on foot or bicycle, reporters found.
About 60% of those who died weren’t at crossings, according to federal data. Many didn’t navigate around downed gates or see lights flashing. Official report after report recounts people noticing the Brightline moments before it killed them.
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Track trespassing is a frequent issue in many places, and there were a few incidents recently here in NJ, but at no point is it Brightline (or any railroad’s) fault that people decide to take shortcuts and walk the tracks. It shouldn’t be the fault of the railroad that people, in their stupidity, walk the tracks and inevitably get struck by a train. These “publications” seem to place blame on them, yet trains can’t stop on a dime or move out of the way to avoid obstacles.
It also seems the public agrees: The people trespassing are at fault.
Regardless of whatever fencing may be added or other improvements, people will still trespass and get killed, and the railroad will be blamed for “not doing enough”.
As much as people are to blame for being idiots at level crossings and on the tracks, there is also typical regulatory failure involved here. People are idiots all over the world, but Brightline is particularly deadly because the government did not require grade separation for this line despite the higher-speed trains running up to 125 mph.
When Brightline needs to make a profit as a privatized line with thin margins, they will do anything they can to avoid spending money on grade separation. The government allows this to happen, and inevitably these stupid people pay the price.
The question is whether we want to live in a society with perpetual victim-blaming, even when the authorities allow layouts that clearly should not exist in the civilized world:
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FDOT should re-evaluate their roads and fix the dangerous crossings since that is not the railroad’s jurisdiction and that would help prevent vehicle collisions. The law also required to cooperate with the railroads in developing crossings in a manner that reduce hazards. The railroad has to provide and maintain existing crossings, but design for their construction has to be approved by the FDOT. So, these extremely dangerous crossings were otherwise approved and allowed to exist thanks to the Dept of Transportation, not the railroad themselves.
Also, per the FRA, the jurisdiction on improving unsafe grade crossings lies within the responsibilities of FDOT, not Brightline.
§ 335.141. Regulation of public railroad-highway grade crossings; reduction of hazards
(1)(a) The department shall have regulatory authority over all public railroad-highway grade
crossings in the state, including the authority to issue permits which shall be required prior to the opening and closing of such crossings.
(2)(a) The department, in cooperation with the several railroad companies operating in the state, shall develop and adopt a program for the expenditure of funds available for the construction of projects for the reduction of the hazards at public railroad-highway grade crossings. The department and the railroad companies are not liable for any action or omission in the development of such program or for the priority given to any crossing improvement.
(b) Every railroad company maintaining a public railroad-highway grade crossing shall, upon
reasonable notice from the department, install, maintain, and operate at such crossing traffic
control devices to provide motorists with warning of the approach of trains. The department shall base its notice on its adopted program for the reduction of hazards at such crossings and on construction efficiency considerations relating to the geographical proximity of crossings included in such program. The design of the traffic control devices must be approved by the department, and the cost of their purchase and installation must be paid from the funds described in paragraph (a)Fla. Stat. Ann. § 335.141 (West 2021) Excerpt from applicable statute published.
Another thing of concern is that the sensationalized title makes it seem like the article is a “hit piece” against Brightline because even though their deaths are higher than average, the numbers are still significantly lower than some of the deaths on certain Florida roads. I wouldn’t be surprised that the fear-mongering is a hit-piece backed by lobbyists to discredit Brightline and railroads in general.
From 2018 to 2022, US 1 killed 677 people and I-95 killed 592 people.
Also, while the trains do travel up to 125 MPH, the portions where the collisions occur are at slower speed so there is no federal requirement to put fencing. In this case, Brightline by all means (while it isn’t exactly as safe) not required to grade separate their trackage. The areas that do reach 125 MPH are fenced in per the federal regulations.
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I forgot to reply to this.
Most of South Florida is a “quiet zone”. Trains are not allowed to use horns under strict penalty of law.
This, however, is not the railroad’s fault.
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That further contributes to the unsafeness thanks to NIMBYs. The railroad has been there far longer than most residents (a lot of lines are former FEC) and quiet zones means ignorant motorists and trespassers cannot hear train horns, BUT they often still ring the engine’s bell. While someone in a car might not hear it, people on the tracks can.
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here we have another article now in a major publication, another PR headache for Brightline?:
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The title should be changed to “Floridians are stupid and choose to get hit by trains.”
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The Darwin Express -
top of today’s front page of the Sunday Herald
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article312597117.html
This seems to be exclusively a Florida issue. For example, in Asbury Park, NJ, the NJCL line is largely unfenced and parallel to a road. There are seldom collisions, even though it’s just as “unsafe” if not worse than Brightline, with that same stretch having about 11 crossings in a ~1-mile area.
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florida moment
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