(The following story by Larry Higgs appeared on the Asbury Park Press website on April 29.)
ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Rail experts say a common thread connects a Spring Lake train fatality, where a man was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train, with a near-miss in Red Bank, when a woman barely escaped before a train hit her disabled car at a grade crossing.
“These are two incidents that didn’t have to happen,” said Robert Kulat, Federal Railroad Administration spokesman.
The crossing accident in Red Bank is the second such train-versus-car crash this year, while the Spring Lake fatality was the fifth in 2008, said Penny Bassett-Hackett, NJ Transit spokeswoman.
Rail officials designate train incidents like these into two categories: trespassing, which involves accidents that occur when people are on railroad property without permission, or highway-rail crossing accidents, which happen at designated rail and gate crossings.
Trespassing accidents are the number-one cause of fatalities in the railroad industry, Kulat said. They usually involve pedestrians who walk across or along railroad tracks as a shortcut to another destination or are riding motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles or snowmobiles, which makes it hard to hear an approaching train.
New Jersey ranked ninth in the nation in trespasser fatalities in 2007, according to rail statistics. Last year, a total of 23 trespassers were killed on railroad tracks in the state, including 16 involving NJ Transit trains, up from 13 NJ Transit incidents in 2006 and 12 in 2005, rail administration reports said.
There were six trespassing fatalities for the commuter carrier for first four months of 2007, Bassett-Hackett said.
“It is basically people who take shortcuts,” Kulat said of trespassers. “The numbers (of accidents) are high and not acceptable.”
The state fares better in railroad crossing accidents, with 30 in 2007, down from 43 in 2006, Kulat said. Those statistics include freight and passenger railroads.
Rail officials said this weekend’s incidents could have been prevented and warn that the railroad is a dangerous place, and caution must be used around tracks and crossings. When those gates and warning devices activate, there is little time before the train arrives.
“When you hear the bells and (see) the lights and bell, there is no time, you need to get out of your vehicle,” Bassett-Hackett said. “If you’re on the tracks and the gates come down, drive through. Don’t stop.”
A common cause of crossing accidents is getting stuck on the tracks in a crossing in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Bassett-Hackett said. Drivers should leave enough space between their vehicle and the one in front so they won’t get stuck if the crossing gates lower and a train comes, she said.
In the two incidents this weekend, an 18-year-old man was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train at about 6:40 p.m. Saturday, while crossing near Wall Road in Spring Lake, which is between that station and Belmar. The accident happened after the train went through the Wall Road crossing, which is protected by gates and lights, she said.
“We don’t know why the young man was where he was,” Bassett-Hackett said. “Our thoughts go out to his family.”
One day earlier, on Friday evening, a NJ Transit commuter train struck a vehicle at the Route 35/Broad Street and Newman Springs Road crossing on the North Jersey Coast Line. Two passers-by freed the driver from her car, moments before the train hit it.
Jennifer Saavedra, 27, of Toms River was crossing the northbound tracks at Broad Street and Newman Springs Road at 9:25 p.m. when her Toyota Corolla became stuck after turning from Newman Springs Road, said Red Bank police.
Bystanders warned Saavedra about the approaching train, and helped free her from the car when the doors wouldn’t open and the warning lights and crossing gates activated. One eyewitness said the car was parallel to the tracks with the wheels below the rails. Two men came and pulled her from the vehicle before it was hit.
“If your car is stranded on a crossing, you need to get out of the vehicle. Safety is a priority here,” Kulat said. “Stopping a train is very hard to do. It takes at least half a mile to come to a dead stop.”
NJ Transit officials had no further details Monday about exactly where Saavedra’s car was at the time of the accident.
In the wake of train accidents, the train crew also suffers, as they usually can only sound the horn, hit the brakes and watch in horror.
“Every crew member handles this differently, whenever there is an incident,” Bassett-Hackett said. “What many people don’t realize, it’s that engineer who sees what happens and does all they can do and unfortunately their train strikes an individual.”
Crews members are offered “critical incident debriefing” with a counselor, which they may attend as a team, she said.
To help reduce the number of incidents, NJ Transit participates in Operation Lifesaver, a program run by the rail industry and the Federal Rail Administration started in 1972 to educate people about the dangers of railroad crossings. Kulat said the program has helped reduce the number of crossing accidents.
Trespassing is a harder problem to prevent, Kulat said. Some freight railroads, such as the Canadian National, which also has lines in the United States, are running a program with railroad and local police, targeting trespassing this week, he said.
A recent study by the Federal Railroad Administration found the average railroad trespasser who is hit by a train is a 34-year-old white male, who is intoxicated on drugs or alcohol, Kulat said.
NJ Transit does have “quad” gates at the crossing, which are four sets of gates that come down across all lanes of the road, Bassett-Hackett said. The crossing was rebuilt last year.
NJ Transit also fences off railroad rights-of-way, which parallels roads to prevent trespassing and installs signs warning of the danger and advising pedestrians to cross where it is appropriate and to obey gates and warning lights, Bassett-Hackett said.
In the end, despite warning devices and signs, people have to choose wisely.
“The bottom line is people need to make the right decision,” Bassett-Hackett said. “You wouldn’t cross a major highway. Why cross an active railroad?”