Highway-railroad grade crossing accidents are both common, and deadly. Everyone, at some point, must cross a railroad while in a vehicle at some point in their life. The issue of pedestrian-train accidents, while less frequent, almost never come out in the favor of the pedestrian. Both official railroad spokesmen and the primarily railroad funded and staffed non-profit public safety organizations (such as Operation Life Saver) are quick to point out that railroads are private property. These organizations forget that railroad rights-of-way are rarely fenced and only occasionally posted as “no trespassing” despite the well known “attractive nuisance” nature of railroad tracks. The human body is no match for a vehicle whose locomotive alone can weigh over 200 tons and certain railroad pathways leave no route of escape from harm’s way. Instead, railroads deny responsibility and proclaim their innocence and train public safety officers that there is no mercy for the pedestrian who is in jeopardy instead of taking protective action. This conduct is virtually unconscionable. Today, we chronicle some recent examples of the ultimate penalty too many pedestrians pay along the rail pathway.
