ASLRRA, AAR Respond to Proposed Reg Change for Commercial Vehicles at Crossings
“Currently, drivers of certain CMVs (e.g., buses transporting passengers and CMVs transporting certain hazardous materials) are required to stop before crossing a railroad track unless an exception applies, such as when the railroad grade crossing is controlled by a functioning highway traffic signal transmitting a green indication,” FMCSA said in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) announcement this spring. “The Agency proposes to add a similar exception for a railroad grade crossing equipped with an active warning device that is not in an activated state (e.g., flashing lights or crossing gates down, indicating the arrival of a train), provided that the driver has exercised due caution to ascertain that the course is clear before crossing and local law permits the CMV to proceed across the railroad tracks without stopping.”
While AAR and ASLRRA said in their comments on the NOPR that they “support moving towards ‘a more streamlined and risk-informed regulatory approach that is performance-based’” and “that ‘focuses on desired, measurable outcomes,’” they do not support FMCSA’s approach, “which will have the unintended consequence of reducing the safety of rail operations as well as the motoring public.”
The associations’ comments (download below) “rebut the assertion that the [proposed] rule would improve traffic flow and potentially reduce rear-end collisions,” ASLRRA told members in its most recent Views & News email newsletter. “Instead, the result of this rule would be more confusion for professional drivers and an increased likelihood of collisions.”
“Removing the requirement that CMV operators stop at all crossings,” ASLRRA continued, “increases the potential for danger because these operators are no longer exercising heightened awareness and caution in a situation where unexpected events, like a train approaching rapidly around a curve, may arise. CMV operators would also still be required to stop if local law requires it, potentially subjecting them to a patchwork of different rules as they complete their routes.”
If the FMCSA finalizes the proposed rule “as is,” ASLRRA and AAR provided recommendations in their comments, saying the government agency “should not adopt a blanket rule” for crossings, but should “evaluate every highway-rail public grade crossing with active warning devices to determine on a case-by-case basis if driving without stopping should be allowed,” according to the ASLRRA report. “Diagnostic teams already conduct such reviews to evaluate crossing danger factors when installing and maintaining active warning devices,” it noted.
