...Brody, 49, (click here) was driving home from her jewelry-store job Tuesday night
when a witness said she got out of her vehicle to check after a
guardrail came down on top of it. She then got back into the car,
driving forward onto the tracks just before she was struck by the train,
motorist Rick Hope told The Journal News....
There was an explosion that's why the electrified rail came loose. For as bad as the crash was it could have been a lot worse.
...The crash happened in the dark in an area where the tracks are straight but drivers exiting or entering the adjacent Taconic Parkway had to turn and cross them. Traffic also was backed up because of an accident on the parkway....
She was caught in traffic.
New York State has regulations for the average driver. I know this is largely ignored, but, it is a place where people can reflect on their own behavior. This sounds terrible, but, it is an issue of defensive driving. That said, this intersection needs an elevated rail. Desperately.
Whenever any person driving a vehicle (click here) approaches a railroad grade crossing under any of the following circumstances, the driver of such vehicle shall stop, not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail and shall not proceed until he or she can do so safely. This applies when (1) an audible or clearly visible electronic or mechanical signal device gives warning of the immediate approach of a train; (2) a crossing gate is lowered or a human flagman gives a signal of the approach of a train; (3) a train approaches within 1,500 feet, and by its proximity is a hazard; or (4) a train emits a warning sound, and by its proximity is a hazard.
There are different laws for buses and trucks. Every vehicle on the road carries gasoline. Can they be considered hazardous? It would appear to be the case. If that means enforcement at dangerous crossings, then so be it. People have to start thinking about their own behavior in disregarding their own safety.
The state legislature needs to consider changing the law to create a demand of every driver to only cross railroad tracks when there is a clear path ahead. Drivers should NEVER stop over or near rails. Never. Enforce it. It is the most immediate way of preventing further such incidents, but, ultimately this rail has to be elevated. It is straight track at that point and there is every reason to make that change.
Brody was a mother of three grown daughters and an active, outgoing member of her synagogue. She was "not risky when it came to her safety or others," said family friend Paul Feiner, the town supervisor in Greenburgh.
No one is questioning Mrs. Brody's integrity. People make errors all the time. It was a difficult judgement call for whatever reason it was. She was distracted to her own ability to move that SUV. Whoever would think they would be facing down a train on the commute home? She panicked. Just that simple. I am sure there was nothing deliberate about her actions in order to cause the accident. Her only flaw was being human.
There was an explosion that's why the electrified rail came loose. For as bad as the crash was it could have been a lot worse.
...The crash happened in the dark in an area where the tracks are straight but drivers exiting or entering the adjacent Taconic Parkway had to turn and cross them. Traffic also was backed up because of an accident on the parkway....
She was caught in traffic.
New York State has regulations for the average driver. I know this is largely ignored, but, it is a place where people can reflect on their own behavior. This sounds terrible, but, it is an issue of defensive driving. That said, this intersection needs an elevated rail. Desperately.
Whenever any person driving a vehicle (click here) approaches a railroad grade crossing under any of the following circumstances, the driver of such vehicle shall stop, not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail and shall not proceed until he or she can do so safely. This applies when (1) an audible or clearly visible electronic or mechanical signal device gives warning of the immediate approach of a train; (2) a crossing gate is lowered or a human flagman gives a signal of the approach of a train; (3) a train approaches within 1,500 feet, and by its proximity is a hazard; or (4) a train emits a warning sound, and by its proximity is a hazard.
There are different laws for buses and trucks. Every vehicle on the road carries gasoline. Can they be considered hazardous? It would appear to be the case. If that means enforcement at dangerous crossings, then so be it. People have to start thinking about their own behavior in disregarding their own safety.
The state legislature needs to consider changing the law to create a demand of every driver to only cross railroad tracks when there is a clear path ahead. Drivers should NEVER stop over or near rails. Never. Enforce it. It is the most immediate way of preventing further such incidents, but, ultimately this rail has to be elevated. It is straight track at that point and there is every reason to make that change.
Brody was a mother of three grown daughters and an active, outgoing member of her synagogue. She was "not risky when it came to her safety or others," said family friend Paul Feiner, the town supervisor in Greenburgh.
No one is questioning Mrs. Brody's integrity. People make errors all the time. It was a difficult judgement call for whatever reason it was. She was distracted to her own ability to move that SUV. Whoever would think they would be facing down a train on the commute home? She panicked. Just that simple. I am sure there was nothing deliberate about her actions in order to cause the accident. Her only flaw was being human.
