Rail-Crossing Wrecks Exceed Norm Placement Of Costly Safety Devices Lags At 3,000-Plus Crossings In State

Idaho’s railroad crossings are among America’s most dangerous, with more than twice as many accidents as the national average, transportation officials say.

One likely reason is that fewer than two out of five Idaho rail crossings have flashing lights or swing arms. Nationally, 35 percent of crossings use the safety devices.

Many of Idaho’s crossings are marked only by stop signs. On Thursday, at a similar rural crossing near Nyssa, Ore., seven people were killed when an Amtrak train hit their pickup truck.

“Safety is the highest priority of this department,” Idaho Transportation Department spokesman Jeff Stratten said Thursday. “But there are in excess of 3,000 rail crossings in the state, and it will take many years to address all the problems.”

In Kootenai County, four men died last summer at the Beck Road crossing near state Highway 53.

That crossing has warning signs and stop signs. But without swing arms, people often coast through the crossing to their death, residents say.

There were 6.2 automobile-train accidents per 100,000 Idaho drivers in 1993. Nationally, the accident rate was 2.8 per 100,000 drivers.

By comparison, Oregon had 2.2 accidents per 100,000 drivers. Oregon has lights or swing arms at 31 percent of its crossings.

Idaho highway officials acknowledge that more protected crossings could save lives, but high costs prohibit the placement of lights or arms at each crossing. Warning lights cost up to $100,000, while cross arms cost twice that much.

From 1990 to 1994, 14 accidents occurred at Kootenai County’s 81 railroad crossings. In those accidents, four people died and 11 people were injured, according to ITD statistics.

That means Kootenai County has the seventh-highest accident rate in Idaho, Stratten said.

But work is under way to lower the accident rate. During the next six years, for example, the Federal Highway Administration has plans to reimburse Idaho for up to $11.1 million for safety improvements at 30 crossings.

At least 13 crossings are expected to get improvements this year - four of them in Kootenai and Bonner counties, said Greg Laragan, traffic engineer for ITD.

North Idaho crossings scheduled to get swing arms and flashing lights this year are:

The Prairie Avenue/Idaho Road intersection with Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

The McGuire Road crossing near Post Falls.

The Boyer Avenue crossing in Sandpoint.

Division Street in Sandpoint.

The deadly Beck Road crossing is scheduled to receive swing arms and flashing lights in 1996, Laragan said.

Still, officials say safety devices will not stop drivers who are intent on crossing tracks. Consequently, transportation officials emphasize educating people to stop, look carefully and listen for trains.

The spokeswoman for a national railroad crossing safety organization said education - not more money - is the answer.

Marmie Edwards of Operation Lifesaver said 48 percent of the accidents in 1993 happened at crossings with lights or arms.

“If gates and lights were the solution, then there would be no crashes where there are gates and lights,” Edwards said.

“The ultimate responsibility is on the motorists,” said Luis del Rio, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. “Many accidents occur because motorists try to beat the train at the crossing, or disregard signals.”

, DataTimes