Tower Operator Wrote:
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> I would say that he looked ahead across the track,
> but mis-judged how much room it would take for him
> to get both his tractor and the trailer all the
> way across and in the clear; or he reasoned that
> he would be able to move off the crossing before
> any train showed up. Stop at any railroad
> crossing anywhere, and sooner or later, you will
> see a truck driver doing the exact same thing. It
> just appears to be a case of total mis-judgement
> on the part of the truck driver. Of course, all
> this is just my own opinion.
From the news I have read, the driver did what you describe. He may have just followed the leading truck's tailer right onto the crossing, not realizing that the lead truck was going to have to stop for the traffic signal ahead of it.
If the driver did some version of this, it would be a violation for crossing before there is adequate room for your vehicle on the opposite side.
However, we now know that the driver also directly violated the law to stop for the activated signals. The signals and bell had activated seven seconds before the driver entered the crossing. What we don't know is exactly where the driver was when the signals activated.
If the driver was standing at the crossing when the signals activated, I can see a possibility that he or she did not notice the activation of the signal more or less right alongside of the truck cab. In that case, there would be a backup warning of the train horn and the crossing signal bells.
The crossing was a quiet crossing, so the routine train horn was missing. That left the crossing bells. They say the police were running their sirens in celebration of the parade. I wonder if that drowned out the crossing bells.
