Staged Crash Underscores Danger at Crossings

In an effort to demonstrate the serious consequences of trying to beat a train at a railroad crossing, the MTA on Wednesday staged a collision between a freight train and a passenger van carrying a test dummy.

The crash spoke for itself. About 490 feet from the impact--on North Main Street just east of the Los Angeles River--the van lay on the tracks, crushed on one side and missing a tire. The dummy, once in the driver’s seat, had flown out of the van, its arm and head no longer attached to its trunk.

The event was not used only to stress the dangers of crossing the gates. Before the collision, Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) announced a new law that raises the fine from $104 to $271 for motorist violations at railroad crossings.

The law, effective as of Jan. 1, was co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, operator of Metro Rail, and the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, which runs Metrolink.

“It takes a hefty fine for some people to rethink their senseless actions, such as that of risking death and trying to beat the train,” said Metrolink board member Sarah Catz.

Raising the fine to equal that of running a red light sends a message that trying to beat the train at a crossing is just as dangerous an offense, Catz said.

Revenues from the fines will fund programs to educate drivers and make crossings safer, but Catz said the real goal is saving lives.

“Ironically, our greatest measure of success will be a dwindling revenue source resulting from fewer violations,” he said.

In the last five years, there have been almost 4,000 railroad-related fatalities, she said, about 10% of them in California.

The collision reenacted a fatal accident in the San Fernando Valley, Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said. In that crash, a mother and daughter were killed when the mother attempted in panic to remove her daughter from the van, which had stalled between the rails. The train involved was traveling about 25 mph, a speed that people mistakenly regard as nonthreatening, Hidalgo said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who was present at the reenactment, urged the public not attempt to beat the trains. “Trains are not toys,” he said. “Stop, look, and live.”