WASHINGTON — Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter said Wednesday that locomotive engineers must continue to sound horns at highway crossings unless communities create "quiet zones" by installing new crossing safety equipment or prove the risk is low for accidents at a crossing that has gates and flashing lights.
The FRA rule, which cannot go into effect for one year, is an attempt to balance motorist safety with the desire of communities near railroad tracks to get some sleep at night.
The battle over train horns dates to 1991 when then-Administrator Gil Carmichael overturned a series of "whistle bans" along the Florida East Coast Railway between Jacksonville and Miami. Numerous communities have attempted to ban horn blowing as population centers grow along rail lines.
Congress has backed the FRA in overturning horn bans, and many studies have shown that accidents go up in areas with horn bans. Under pressure from Congress and local communities, the FRA has established some quiet zones in areas where crossings are guarded by new types of crossing protection.
Wednesday’s rule formalized procedures for communities to establish quiet zones or to keep the ones they have. In all cases, an engineer can sound a horn whenever he believes there is an emergency.
Horns would be sounded no more than 15 to 20 seconds before reaching a crossing, rather than in accordance with the current quarter-mile rule. The rule also sets the minimum and maximum sound level from a locomotive horn.
The rule establishes a "risk index" in which communities can apply a risk test to an area with crossings protected by gates and lights. If the index falls below a certain level, a quiet zone can be established without any further significant expense. If the index is too high, the community can install certain "supplementary safety measures" to lower the index to the proper level.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
