Grade crossing, trespassing fatalities rise
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefU. S. railroads reported 665 fatalities in the first 10 months of 2010, with all but 41 attributed to grade crossing accidents and trespassing.
Preliminary figures for January-October 2010, compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Safety Analysis, were released Dec. 31.
They show that highway-rail crossing collisions were held responsible for 229 fatalities, up 12.3% from the 2009 period. Trespassing caused 406 fatalities, up 12.2%.
Employee fatalities increased 46% to 19.
Total accidents/incidents increased a fraction of one percent to 9,404. The number of collisions decreased 5.3% to 107, while derailments were down 1.3% to 1,117. Yard accidents dropped 1.2% to 840.
