After a nearly two-decade delay, federal regulators announced a final rule Sept. 24 that will prohibit commercial motor vehicle drivers from entering onto a highway-rail grade crossing unless there is sufficient space to drive completely through the crossing without stopping.
The joint Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration rule is intended to reduce rail-crossing crashes between trucks and trains at the nation’s 21,208 rail-grade crossings.
To help avoid accidents, the rule recommends that shippers, receivers, brokers and motor carriers reroute drivers to avoid exposing them to the dangers of crossings that are badly marked, hidden or have insufficient stopping space.
The agencies estimate the total annual benefits from crashes avoided will be nearly $1 million in reducing injuries, hazardous material spills, highway property damage and train derailments.
First mandated by Congress in 1994, the new rule was proposed in 2011 but stalled for more than two years . An earlier attempt to post a rule was withdrawn in 2006 because it “created a great deal of misunderstanding” with state regulatory agencies.
