is it legal to cross when lights/bells are on but the gate is not down

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If a police officer was in the area he should have been assessing the situation and stopping traffic or waving traffic across, not issuing tickets.
IMHO, this is one of the best answers here to the simple question of, could I get a ticket? And as answered (repeating it), any police officer at the location should not be issuing tickets, but rather taking charge and safely controlling the situation.
Sadly most police officers these days (in the US,) job is not to protect the citizens but instead to enforce laws. Which is why their becoming more and more referred to as "Law Enforcement Officers" rather the "Police Officers" or even "Peace Officers"

peter

In deep red anti-tax states like Texas the police force has become a back door revenue collection service focused on enforcing severe penalties for relatively minor infractions such as outdated revenue stickers. Thanks to the secondary and tertiary surcharge system a single non-moving violation can result in thousands of dollars in fines and fees.
 
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Couple of points, and I accept that I am not familiar with USA crossings.

If the crossing gates are open, then there should be no chance of another train coming through... the interlocking fail safe systems should not allow any other train engineer to see a proceed aspect if the gates are open.

Whatever the problem, and OBS has pretty much nailed it, you can accept that the engineer can see you, and waves you through safely. He is a skilled worker who knows what is happening.

As to "legal" I have no idea, save to say that there must be some short time where cars are crossing just after the bells/lights start... they cannot be deemed to be doing wrong?

Ed :cool:
 
Where was the flagman standing?
Flagman? I thought there was just an "Amtrak driver", which I was interpreting as meaning the Amtrak engineer, still up in his cab, waving thru the window.
Oh, that indeed would be different. I had interpreted the comments as a train employee outside the train actually standing at the crossing. Admittedly, I'm perplexed by the term "driver."
 
Couple of points, and I accept that I am not familiar with USA crossings.

If the crossing gates are open, then there should be no chance of another train coming through... the interlocking fail safe systems should not allow any other train engineer to see a proceed aspect if the gates are open.

Whatever the problem, and OBS has pretty much nailed it, you can accept that the engineer can see you, and waves you through safely. He is a skilled worker who knows what is happening.

As to "legal" I have no idea, save to say that there must be some short time where cars are crossing just after the bells/lights start... they cannot be deemed to be doing wrong?

Ed :cool:

Here in TX there is no physical or electronic connection between the signal system and the crossing gates. Nor am I aware of any such system here in the US. Just as in dozens of other states the signals will remain green even as Jimbob the bumbling truck driver and Rosco the careless trooper watch their large commercial vehicle sit on the tracks.
 
There is such a connection in Austin for CapMetros Redline ( also Freight @_Night) Chris!

Soon as the 4-way gates are activated ALL of the Traffic Lights on Streets and @ Intersections that cross the tracks are Automatically turned Red until 2 minutes after the Train clears the Crossing and the Gates reopen!
 
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If you are so paranoid to get wacked by a train after the eng tells you yo go ahead then IMO call the amtrak police .

they are the ones who can make the needed internal calls to make a judgement call and its on there head IF you go splat..
 
IMHO, this is one of the best answers here to the simple question of, could I get a ticket? And as answered (repeating it), any police officer at the location should not be issuing tickets, but rather taking charge and safely controlling the situation.
The issue is, if somebody does get hit, the police *have to* issue a ticket to whoever was breaking the law. That's how the court assigns culpability and any liability is assessed.

You see it all the time in New York. Car gets into a grade crossing accident and is totally destroyed... and the driver gets a ticket and everybody laughs because of how ridiculous it is for a driver who just lost everything (including, sometimes, life and/or limbs) to get a ticket. But they have to, because that's the law and *Amtrak* could end up being sued for not stopping in time if the driver doesn't get that ticket. That's why the law is what it is in the first place.

The original question here is really one of liability. I don't think any of us are really qualified to answer it definitively in this particular case but we're all just providing what we know. But the police have to do their jobs, and that does include ticketing whoever actually broke the law.
 
IMHO, this is one of the best answers here to the simple question of, could I get a ticket? And as answered (repeating it), any police officer at the location should not be issuing tickets, but rather taking charge and safely controlling the situation.
The issue is, if somebody does get hit, the police *have to* issue a ticket to whoever was breaking the law. That's how the court assigns culpability and any liability is assessed.

You see it all the time in New York. Car gets into a grade crossing accident and is totally destroyed... and the driver gets a ticket and everybody laughs because of how ridiculous it is for a driver who just lost everything (including, sometimes, life and/or limbs) to get a ticket. But they have to, because that's the law and *Amtrak* could end up being sued for not stopping in time if the driver doesn't get that ticket. That's why the law is what it is in the first place.

The original question here is really one of liability. I don't think any of us are really qualified to answer it definitively in this particular case but we're all just providing what we know. But the police have to do their jobs, and that does include ticketing whoever actually broke the law.
I disagree that a citation is required in order to prove liability. This is why we have finders of fact (juries and judges) and evidence to prove a case. A citation might be helpful to get a finding of "negligence per se" in a civil trial but in no way is it required. Citations in these instances are issued at the officer's discretion not due to some overt requirement. It also does not preclude a suit against the railroad involved even in the instant a citation is issued as all of that would depend on the facts of each individual case. Otherwise an officer would have to issue a citation in every crash (car v. car, cyclist, motorcycle, train, etc.) situation where a traffic violation occurs which is not the case at all.
 
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If you are so paranoid to get wacked by a train after the eng tells you yo go ahead then IMO call the amtrak police .

they are the ones who can make the needed internal calls to make a judgement call and its on there head IF you go splat..
Why call Amtrak police, what would they do about it?

I will call local police. Local police can then call the host RR number of record and tell their dispatch to send somebody to fix the problem so they don't need to assign 2-3 officers for 12 hours to the intersection. Or something like that.
 
I am a police officer in Ohio.

In regards to tickets being issued from crashes we have some insurance companies that will attempt to not pay out claims to the not at fault party if we do not issue citations.

I have had several people who were not at fault call or stop at the station and tell me they had trouble getting their car paid for as the insurance agent told them no tickets were issued. The crash report reflected that they were not at fault and the other driver was. Rather this was the insurance companies policy or just the agents trying to keep claims down I do not know. It involved different insurance agents from different companies. Now officers are having to issue tickets out of very minor crashes for claims can be paid.

In my area if the lights on the gates are flashing you can not cross the tracks unless a police officer or a flag person who is authorized to do so directs you across the tracks.

So the people who start across the tracks as the gates are going up but the lights are still on are breaking the law but more importantly placing themselves in danger.
 
I am a police officer in Ohio.

In regards to tickets being issued from crashes we have some insurance companies that will attempt to not pay out claims to the not at fault party if we do not issue citations.

I have had several people who were not at fault call or stop at the station and tell me they had trouble getting their car paid for as the insurance agent told them no tickets were issued. The crash report reflected that they were not at fault and the other driver was. Rather this was the insurance companies policy or just the agents trying to keep claims down I do not know. It involved different insurance agents from different companies. Now officers are having to issue tickets out of very minor crashes for claims can be paid.
Unless it's codified somewhere (and I haven't found anything yet, not that I've looked too hard either) it sounds like the policy of insurance companies that they're using against people to low ball or refuse to pay settlements (and people say lawyers are bad...insurance adjusters are in the same boat.) Insurance companies are a for profit business so of course they pull everything they can to mitigate their losses. Once it winds up in the hands of legal and away from the adjusters a citation is a piece of evidence but not having one issued shouldn't preclude recovery if the case winds up in or on the way to court.

Due to the amounts of money involved in this case I'm pretty sure this is in the "in or on the way to court" category and a reasonably competent attorney could prove their case without a citation.
 
Where was the flagman standing?
Flagman? I thought there was just an "Amtrak driver", which I was interpreting as meaning the Amtrak engineer, still up in his cab, waving thru the window.
Oh, that indeed would be different. I had interpreted the comments as a train employee outside the train actually standing at the crossing. Admittedly, I'm perplexed by the term "driver."
What US railroaders call an "engineer" is referred to as the "driver" in the rest of the English-speaking world. Eventually the US will join the rest of the world; the language shift is already happening. (It's probably happening because engineer means something else, while "driver" is unambiguous. On the other hand, the British usage of "guard" in railroading is disappearing, probably again because "guard" means something else.)
 
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I am a police officer in Ohio.

In regards to tickets being issued from crashes we have some insurance companies that will attempt to not pay out claims to the not at fault party if we do not issue citations.

I have had several people who were not at fault call or stop at the station and tell me they had trouble getting their car paid for as the insurance agent told them no tickets were issued. The crash report reflected that they were not at fault and the other driver was. Rather this was the insurance companies policy or just the agents trying to keep claims down I do not know. It involved different insurance agents from different companies. Now officers are having to issue tickets out of very minor crashes for claims can be paid.
From my life experiences, the insurance company's don't quickly/automatically pay the claim because it is coming down to one party's word vs. the other party's word. So, there isn't any clear fault for an out-of-court settlement.

I thought a police officer isn't suppose to write a ticket/citation unless they themselves were a directly witness to the accident. True, with a ticket the insurance companies will settle, but that's because they have a reliable impartial witness, the police officer, to establish fault to their satisfaction. If the police officer didn't see the accident, and only was responding to a call, he could only take statements, interview witnesses, and collect evidence (well, see to the injured first, and then do those things). If a judgment call of fault needs to be made, it should be made by a judge/jury.
 
I am a police officer in Ohio.

In regards to tickets being issued from crashes we have some insurance companies that will attempt to not pay out claims to the not at fault party if we do not issue citations.

I have had several people who were not at fault call or stop at the station and tell me they had trouble getting their car paid for as the insurance agent told them no tickets were issued. The crash report reflected that they were not at fault and the other driver was. Rather this was the insurance companies policy or just the agents trying to keep claims down I do not know. It involved different insurance agents from different companies. Now officers are having to issue tickets out of very minor crashes for claims can be paid.
From my life experiences, the insurance company's don't quickly/automatically pay the claim because it is coming down to one party's word vs. the other party's word. So, there isn't any clear fault for an out-of-court settlement.

I thought a police officer isn't suppose to write a ticket/citation unless they themselves were a directly witness to the accident. True, with a ticket the insurance companies will settle, but that's because they have a reliable impartial witness, the police officer, to establish fault to their satisfaction. If the police officer didn't see the accident, and only was responding to a call, he could only take statements, interview witnesses, and collect evidence (well, see to the injured first, and then do those things). If a judgment call of fault needs to be made, it should be made by a judge/jury.
I am a recently retired Peace Officer, having worked in both State and County Agencies.

One thing to remember, a ticket/citation is only a charging document. Guilt of a crime is the courts job.

Yes, tickets can be issued if the officer does not witness the crime. In that case they are issued as the result of an investigation.

In my experience, I was never "required" to issue a citation in relation to a "crash" (I was required to not use the word accident in reporting). My job was to investigate the crash, determine if probable cause exists that a crime was committed, issue citations or make an arrest based on that PC, and then write a detailed crash report based on my findings at the crash scene.

edit: After reading the above statement: I made a mistake, I was required to issue citations if I had PC to believe Alcohol or Drugs were factors in the crash. Those are the only cases where my discretion was legislated away.

Determining fault is not a Peace Officers job. That task falls solely on the insurance industry and court system.

In relation to the crossing, An Officers job should be Public Safety, not revenue generation. But luckily I never had to work for a Local PD and be exposed to the Politics that are generated from "Appointed" law enforcement.

This does differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, these are only my experiences.
 
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NY LAW MANDATES

Stopping at a lowering gate

Stopping at a visible or audible signal

Stopping at the sight of an approaching train

Until the gate rises, sound or lights go off or train passes.

Law says at least 15' from the tracks.

Tankers, school bus and other vehicles MUST ALWAYS stop before crossing an open crossing

Even with no sight or signal or gate.

Rural upstate and Long Island RR crossings may have a Stop sign at a non controlled crossing.

Police/peace officers must see the incident to write a violation. It is not a misdemeanor or felony,

Just a violation like jaywalking with a very high fine...

I have been a judge for 20 years and have never heard of a summons being given for this violation without observation. I would throw it out...

Since the train always wins, most often there is no one to give the summons to...
 
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