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Anything that is not a train that is on railroad tracks is prima facie evidence that fault doesn't lie with the train since trains are the only thing supposed t

Anything that is not a train that is on railroad tracks is prima facie evidence that fault doesn't lie with the train since trains are the only thing supposed to be on the tracks. But it doesn't matter. You then get into questions like "were the lights flashing?" "Were the gates down?" "Did the train operator blow his horn? Was it loud enough? Was it long enough?" "Where there sight-line issues between the car and the gates/lights/trains?" In essence the question is usually "did the railroad do absolutely everything in it's power to prevent the train from hitting something that is trespassing on the tracks" and the mere existence of the grade crossing is evidence that the answer is "no" since the railroad could have spent a million dollars and grade-separated the crossing. And there is your liability.

Zak 15y ago
trains are the only thing supposed to be on the tracks That's not the case at crossings. "were the lights flashing?" "Were the gates down?" Whoever bears legal responsibility for the crossing should be able to show that the systems were in working order. "Did the train operator blow his horn? Was it loud enough? Was it long enough?" This shouldn't matter any more than it should matter if I sounded the horn in my car when someone else ran a red light. "Where there sight-line issues between the car and the gates/lights/trains?" If you drive faster than you can see and react to hazards, you are negligent and at fault for any resulting collision. With these things in mind, I'm in favor of a law that automatically holds the driver responsible as long as the flashing lights or gates were working properly. Nobody else should be held responsible when you do stupid things with your car.
DannyBee 15y ago
The solution to this is not to increase horn noise, but to simply pass a law that states that people can't sue for wrongful death at a train crossing due to lack of safety standards as long as it meets FRA regulations or whatever. This sort of limiting has been done in other circumstances. You will never solve this problem by changing the regulations, lawyers can always think up new things you should have done when they are paid to :)

Zak 15y ago

trains are the only thing supposed to be on the tracks That's not the case at crossings. "were the lights flashing?" "Were the gates down?" Whoever bears legal responsibility for the crossing should be able to show that the systems were in working order. "Did the train operator blow his horn? Was it loud enough? Was it long enough?" This shouldn't matter any more than it should matter if I sounded the horn in my car when someone else ran a red light. "Where there sight-line issues between the car and the gates/lights/trains?" If you drive faster than you can see and react to hazards, you are negligent and at fault for any resulting collision. With these things in mind, I'm in favor of a law that automatically holds the driver responsible as long as the flashing lights or gates were working properly. Nobody else should be held responsible when you do stupid things with your car.

DannyBee 15y ago

The solution to this is not to increase horn noise, but to simply pass a law that states that people can't sue for wrongful death at a train crossing due to lack of safety standards as long as it meets FRA regulations or whatever. This sort of limiting has been done in other circumstances. You will never solve this problem by changing the regulations, lawyers can always think up new things you should have done when they are paid to :)