A Waverly, IA man came to a railroad crossing in his vehicle and, neither seeing nor hearing a train (and being prevented by no gate or light), proceeded to cross the track. Sound reasonable? We think so too. There was in fact a train coming, however, and the broadside of his car was struck by the train, inflicting injuries on the man and destroying the vehicle.
Officials in Waverly admit that this is a rare occurrence for them; after all, their busy crossings are equipped with lights and gates. Hopefully this will trigger a push to get active warning gates installed at this crossing. This sort of incident is one of the most alarming of all railroad issues today: crossings where drivers are simply unaware of a train’s presence due to inadequate warning and visibility factors can be the site of serious accidents for even the most careful of drivers.