(Newsday posted the following article by Samuel Bruchey on its website on June 15.)
NEW YORK — When the gates are lowering and lights are flashing at railroad crossings, New Yorkers are all too likely to consider the warning, but keep on going, a study has found.
At 21 Long Island Rail Road and Metro North grade-level crossings, hundreds of pedestrians and motorists – including school bus and tractor-trailer drivers – intentionally crossed under dangerous conditions, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi.
“The most important message of this audit is that grade-level railroad crossings are inherently dangerous,” said Hevesi, in a statement provided by his office. “Drivers and pedestrians who do not use care and caution whenever they cross railroad tracks put their own lives and those of others at risk.”
During 42 hours of videotaped observations, the audit recorded 294 violations – including 203 at LIRR crossings in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens.
Hevesi noted that LIRR and Metro-North safety gates and flashing lights were generally in good working condition.
In a statement from the LIRR, the railroad said it makes consistent efforts to alert people to the hazards of grade-level crossings.
“We have extensive outreach programs to educate the public regarding the appropriate protocols to follow when approaching grade crossings,” the statement said.
Marjorie Anders, a Metro-North spokeswoman, called the audit “worthwhile” in raising awareness to the dangerous crossings.
The audit was conducted between January 2002 and April 2005. Auditors focused on LIRR crossings in Maspeth, New Hyde Park, Mineola, Bethpage, Wyandanch, Central Islip and Brentwood. Each was videotaped for about two hours, mostly during rush hour.
At LIRR crossings, the violations witnessed included 82 instances of cars or trucks ignoring safety devices and 20 cases of pedestrians or bicyclists venturing across under dangerous conditions. At 11 Metro-North crossings in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange and Fairfield Counties, they recorded 91 violations.
In one instance, a woman pushed a baby carriage across the tracks after the gates were down until an auditor signaled her to stop. In another, a truck idled on the tracks for 23 seconds on Wicks Road in Brentwood, waiting for traffic to clear.
Between 2002 and 2004, there were 37 accidents, 11 of them fatal, at LIRR and Metro North grade crossings.
The LIRR has 293 grade crossings. Metro-North has 154. While both railroads have expressed interest in eliminating such crossings, doing so, Anders said, “is very expensive.”