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Lawmakers sounded warnings and tried to lower the gate Monday on a rash of railroad-crossing accidents over the past year.
The Utah Senate moved to more clearly outlaw dangerous activities around crossings, which the Utah Transit Authority says led to at least 25 serious incidents last year at TRAX and FrontRunner commuter rail crossings.
"It's against the law to go around the gates. It's against the law to go through the red lights," said SB195 sponsor Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City. The Senate passed it 24-5 and sent it to the House.
The bill makes it clearer, for example, that cars and pedestrians cannot enter a crossing anytime lights are flashing — even if guard arms are in the process of going up or down. But impatient drivers at times enter crossings as soon as the arms start to rise.
Also, the bill more clearly does not allow cars to go around lowered gates — even if they have been lowered for a long time, which has led to accidents.
UTA reports four car-train accidents at TRAX and FrontRunner crossing in the past year. UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said, "If you combine all motorist incidents — ran through gate, red light or stop sign; made right turn or left turn in front of a train; merged into share lane, etc. — there were more than 20 in 2011, though the majority resulted only in property damage."
"These drivers are not taking care of business. They are distracted. They are not watching the lights," said Mayne, a former member of the UTA board.
TRAX and FrontRunner had five additional train-pedestrian accidents causing four deaths over the past year, Carpenter said.
"UTA supports this bill because it would be helpful both from an enforcement and an education perspective. We believe the current law isn't as clear as it could be about what is lawful behavior around a railroad crossing," Carpenter said.