Brightline celebrated its third year of operating passenger trains in south Florida this month by killing two people in two days and then a third person a few days later. This makes a total of 63 deaths due to Brightline, which has been rated the most dangerous railroad in the country.
Of course, as shown in the above video, Brightline blames all of the fatalities on the victims. The deaths have nothing to do with Brightline adding fast, frequent passenger trains to a corridor that previously was used only by slow, infrequent freight trains.
There’s good news, however. Brightline says it is willing to spend $45 million to improve safety in the corridor. There’s one catch: it wants the federal government to give it the $45 million. Apparently, safety is important for the railroad only if someone else pays for it.
More like the most dangerous place to drive thru a rail line.
Railroad officials were quick to blame the latest accident on the auto driver, who drove “around the gates, which were down, flashing and bells ringing, signaling an approaching train.”
Well yeah when you put it that way………it is the drivers fault. To subject them to a standard.
Since most Americans don’t ride trains few see them.. so they honestly don’t know how to respond when see em coming.
Wanna save lives? Instead of 45 million for barriers just spend 1000 for a big sign
“WHEN THE POLE IS DOWN AND LIGHTS BLINKING A FUCKING TRAIN IS COMING”
And if they still die trying to beat it…. they’re doing their part…taking their stupidity out of the gene pool
Brightline blames all of the fatalities on the victims.
– antiplanner
Video: there’s gates, there’s signs, there’s lights, there’s bells…
Then again how do you know the stove is hot….I flick a drop of water on the stove…. if it sizzles its still hot. ?
Even as an adult I still live by the same safety talk mothers gave us. LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET….
Meanwhile over 3000 Fliridians are killed per year in in car accidents. How much do we spend on that…Like I said you can curb auto fatalities effortlessly with these simple low cost means.
– Build speed cameras into the road bed or disguised as inanimate road objects like cones or in trees. Most people avoid speed traps as they know where they are mostly at signs and signals. They drive like Ms daisy on the intersections but zoom off before or after. Lot of people will complain…but they’d have no excuse when confronted with evidence going 45 in a 30.
– use the point system to find the worst drivers and suspend their license for 3 months. since driving is a privilege, not a right…..some might complain but you have no right to pose safety hazard. eliminating worst drivers.
– https://ocgnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/georgia-drivers-license-expiration.jpg
Drivers licenses have near decade if issuance before expiration. DMV can vastly lower the price of license acquisition but increase frequency requiring more frequent testing. Driving is as much a reading and knowledge exercise as a instintuctial one. More frequent testing is also a cognitive exercise test.
– 1/3 of all traffic-related deaths are alcohol related… if bars aren’t held more responsible loss of liquor license is valid. Bars start confiscating or holding keys of patrons and no return. First time DUI sustained by 6 months license suspension.
Brightline + Florida DOT have applied for a $25 million Federal grant. This means that at the Federal level they want public money spent on this sort of thing.
It’s not clear who is applying for the money. I would assume that it’s Florida DOT, not Brightline.
While that’s $25million, leaving another $20 to be covered by Florida DOT and Brightline, I can not find anything where Brightline makes any commitment of any dollar amount.
https://www.wpbf.com/article/brightline-fdot-federal-grant-safety-enhancement-measures-railroad-crossings/39863961#
The train killed 63 people? The actual train itself? If you run across I-95 and get hit by a car was it the cars fault or the person driving the car? If someone gets hit and killed by a train it’s the fault of the person that decided to cross the tracks when the gates are down and the lights are flashing and bells are ringing. Now if you show me an instant where the train hit someone and the gates and lights did not activate then you have an argument.
One is forced to cross I-95 at grade? No, by design, for safety, there are under- and overpasses. Brightline went cheap and runs frequent fast trains at grade.
Yes, most of the deaths are either suicides or people that have agency in the situation. Nevertheless, we design things to mitigate bad decisions. Things like putting in a fence.
Note here I-95 is fenced off.
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.2107466,-80.136413,3a,75y,341.71h,91.98t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbJ_CiAM2FBjUrG30t6u6pw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DbJ_CiAM2FBjUrG30t6u6pw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D313.04276%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
Yet over hear, the railroad w/ trains running 60-80mph is not.
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.2108189,-80.1321615,3a,22.1y,88.62h,91.71t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sXxEKHrb2SEx9YHYxim5OKQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DXxEKHrb2SEx9YHYxim5OKQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D90.23794%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
The last spot is where someone died crossing the tracks. Not too big of a deal when you’re dealing with some freight going 18mph. Why do they cross there? Well, it’s a mile and a half detour to cross over a bridge. But when you’re on a foot, that’s another 1/2 hour of walking.
If intersections had all the accoutrements of rail crossings accidents would decline maybe slightly but most importantly people would be held at fault for negligence.
Imagine if every intersection in America had poles with signs,, flashing warning lights and bells ringing.
Car Horns should be just as loud on the inside of the car than the outside”. YES. Such a simple change that would remove so much needless honking. Cars create lots of air and noise pollution, but experience little of it, because, cabin air eliminate the particulates they have to breathe and sound dampening technology makes car interiors quiet enough to listen to music, or conversation.
Why not regulate audio volumes in cars.. of course they’d say it’s draconian. And the gangsta wannabees with their subwoofers would complain…but this technology should not be allowed in cars. Besides being obnoxious, and if it disables persons ability to hear in their vicinity.
Urban noise is a common problem, and the vast majority of it is created by motor vehicles. Nit just the engines….. custom exhaust, performance tuneup, and loud audio systems reserved for concerts. Noise is far too often dismissed as a minor nuisance, rather than the legitimate health issue that it is.
You can’t idiot proof everything.
LazyReader wrote, “You can’t idiot proof everything.”
Including blog comments.
For anyone interested in an open, honest exploration of the this issue, note that we don’t have the problems w/ the fenced in I-95 that we do with the parallel Brighline. Note that FEC running freight on the same tracks doesn’t have anything near the problem.
Suicide by train is a real thing. But it’s hard to believe suicidal people are holding out to be killed by Brighline trains rather than FEC ones. Obviously Brightline’s operations are much more dangerous and require more robust safety measures.
Again, we’re not talking about idiot proofing. What is in play – what the issue is – is the economic Value of a Statistical Life ( VSL ). USDOT’s VSL is ~ $10million.
This means if we spend 10m / year spent to improve safety measures on the corridor and it results in one less death per year, it’s paid for itself.
And that doesn’t even get into the costs of accidents that don’t result in death.
This is all quite logical to do. The only question is is over who should pay, the taxpayers or Brightline.