Rail Design Led to Deadliness of Valhalla Metro-North Train Crash

[BreeddekalbL]

now as a reaction to this they want to close that grade crossing

http://mountpleasant.dailyvoice.com/news/mount-pleasant-calls-for-closure-of-valhalla-metro-north-crossing/717544/

[IAlam]

lol. What you're saying is simply not true. I posted an article of another driver that was killed at the exact same crossing, with their car dragged by the train just like this lady. Clearly the people who could've made a difference knew that there was a problem, which was why over $100,000 dollars was allocated to make safety improvements at and around the crossing, but such changes never came to fruition, so you have examples of negligence right there that could've been avoided. The manhole situation was also negligence because the workers had a duty to secure it after working on it and didn't, so in short the lawsuit is about whether or not this incident could've been prevented with better safety measures put in place. The people that could've made that happen but didn't may include the . What the NTSB provided was a report. We can't go off of that alone. The jury will be asked to look at ALL of the evidence. All the lawyer of the family has to do is show examples in which this happened before (I already posted an incident that happened before), show a lack of regard for fixing the problem (monies were allocated but never used to fix the problem they knew about) and show an ongoing pattern that could've prevented this. It isn't just the involved in this lawsuit but several other parties. Given the weather conditions that evening, along with the lack of lighting in the area, I think they have a pretty good case. There's also the eyewitness that stated that he originally did not see the train tracks until she was already on them. That says a lot.

 

There are others suing. There have been 34 notices of claim against the all claiming negligence. The family just happened to be the first to file notice. That's why they're in the spotlight.

I really interested in seeing what the jury says in this case. I can see the other claims being successful but not the family of the SUV driver. But we'll just have to wait and see what the jury decides.

[Truckie]

While the weather and visibility may have caused a factor, along with the fact she was not familiar with the road may have contributed to the accident, I don't feel it's a reasonable excuse. If I was driving somewhere I was not familiar, with less than desirable conditions I would be exercising due caution, but that's me.

 

Putting things into perspective, if you drive on a highway at 65 MPH in he snow and the posted speed limit is 65 MPH you can get a speeding ticket! This is because you are not driving given the road conditions.

 

Following the days after this accident, the police increased patrols at rail crossings to enforce not stopping on the tracks as it is illegal to do so. There were tickets given to numerous individuals in good weather and daylight, including a school bus!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

While the weather and visibility may have caused a factor, along with the fact she was not familiar with the road may have contributed to the accident, I don't feel it's a reasonable excuse. If I was driving somewhere I was not familiar, with less than desirable conditions I would be exercising due caution, but that's me.

 

Putting things into perspective, if you drive on a highway at 65 MPH in he snow and the posted speed limit is 65 MPH you can get a speeding ticket! This is because you are not driving given the road conditions.

 

Following the days after this accident, the police increased patrols at rail crossings to enforce not stopping on the tracks as it is illegal to do so. There were tickets given to numerous individuals in good weather and daylight, including a school bus!

I agree, but we're talking about this particular railroad crossing where another individual was killed under similar circumstances. After that time, over $100,000 was allocated to making that railroad crossing safer but not spent. That shows that someone knew there was a safety issue that needed to be addressed, hence negligence. If I was on the jury that would be my main question, and I would be looking to hold someone accountable. There was traffic in that area, so it wasn't like she was speeding or doing anything reckless. What does baffle me though is how in the hell do you get out of your car and do all of that unless you don't know you're on a railroad track?