A moving freight train takes no prisoners, especially when it hits another vehicle at a roadside crossing.
That happened Aug. 27 at a crossing near Red Rock, south of Prince George, when a grader operator got a little too close to the tracks and was clipped by the passing train.
Fortunately it was only a glancing blow as the train clipped the blade of the grader and nobody was injured, but it could have been deadly.
“Nobody was hurt and there was minimal damage - in 40 years of all the ones I’ve seen that was the least damage of all,” said CN Police Service Cst. Jamie Thorne.
“We had one three or four years ago up in Telkwa and the cab of the grader was right in the crossing, the train hit him and he was in the hospital for four or five months. The only thing that saved his life is the wing was up and it absorbed most of the impact.”
Already this year, there have been 236 reported incidents involving railway crossings resulting in 72 injuries and 53 deaths.
The CN Police Service patrols roadways near train property to promote safety and watch for people who trespass onto tracks and train property. CN police can issue speeding tickets or other tickets to motorists who disregard road safety laws.
But Thorne still receives too many near-miss reports from locomotive engineers observing drivers trying to beat the train to the crossing. If caught crossing within 500 metres of the train where signal lights are flashing, the licence plate number of the offending motorist is recorded and that driver will get a knock on the door from Thorne issuing a ticket.
“If a train crew can get a licence plate, it’s too close,” said Thorne.
“It doesn’t happen as often as it used to when I first started. Through education and accreditation and putting information in local news media, it’s helping.”
CN offers tips for motorists to keep them safe around train tracks crossings:
- Never race a train to the crossing. It's not risking your life or that of your passengers just to save a few minutes of your time.
- Trains are heavy and can't stop quickly. Even if the locomotive engineer sees you approaching, a train can take up to two kilometres to stop, the length of 18 football fields.
- Never drive around a lowered gate, not only is it illegal, it's extremely dangerous.
- Do not get trapped on the tracks. Drive through a crossing only if you can completely clear it without stopping. Remember the train is much wider than the tracks on both sides. If you can’t fit, don’t commit.
- If your vehicle stalls and is stuck on the track when a train is approaching exit the vehicle and move away from the tracks in the direction from which the train is coming. Contact the railway for assistance.
