10 states required to improve highway-rail grade crossing safety
Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas required to identify specific solutions for improving safety at crossings, including highway-rail grade crossing closures or grade separations, and must focus on crossings that have experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk for such accidents.
Ten states with the most highway-rail grade crossing collisions will be required to develop action plans to reduce the number of accidents.
A Final Rule issued by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will require Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas to identify specific solutions for improving safety at crossings. Specific areas of focus include highway-rail grade crossing closures or grade separations, and crossings that have experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk for such accidents.
The rulemaking is required under the Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Nationwide, there were 2,772 highway-rail crossing accidents in 2007, 2,409 in 2008, and 1,896 in 2009 resulting in a total of 873 fatalities, according to the FRA.
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