Avoid truck collisions with trains at South Texas crossings

Every year our Texas truck collision injury attorneys see a few major news stories involving truck collisions with trains, either Amtrak or freight trains, at railway crossings. Sometimes the truck has gotten stuck on the tracks before a collision. Occasionally a truck driver tries to beat a train across the railway and doesn’t quite make it.

Approximately every three to four hours, a train collides with a vehicle or a pedestrian somewhere in the U.S. Many of the truck collisions with trains occur at rural crossings that don’t have the automatic gates and flashing lights you might be accustomed to in urban areas. In Eagle Ford Shale country, with its endless miles of rural roads that have only in recent years seen heavy traffic, some of these barely noticeable railway crossings can be dangerous for the many truck drivers operating rigs for the oil and gas companies.

Truck drivers in the Eagle Ford Shale country should be aware that a train could approach a crossing at any time. Modern trains are relatively quiet, and you might not hear them approach, especially if you have music on or you’re on your cell phone. Our Texas truck collision injury attorneys emphasize that freight trains don’t go by reliable, fixed schedules. And as anyone who has ridden Amtrak well knows, passenger train progress can vary widely from the “schedule.”

Drivers approaching a railway crossing are required to stop at least 15 feet away from the nearest rail if they see or hear a railroad crossing signal, a lowered gate bar across the tracks, a flagger warning of a train’s approach, or an approaching train. The driver must remain stopped until the railroad-crossing signal disengages and it is safe to proceed. Or, in the absence of a signal, when the train has sufficiently cleared the crossing area and it is safe to proceed.

Truck collisions with trains are mostly preventable given reasonable safety precautions. Truck drivers and others in Eagle Ford Shale country should always err on the side of caution. Clearly if you collide with a train in any way, it was not safe to proceed. Learn more about what to do in the event of a train collision in this article by our Texas truck collision injury attorneys.