About 1:45 a.m. on March 9, 1975, three teenagers were killed when their auto, moving at a speed of more than 50 mph, struck the side of the leading car of a slow-moving freight train at a crossing irregularly used by trains. The presence of the crossing was indicated by warning signs 500 feet and 380 feet in advance of the crossing and by crossbucks at the crossing; a train flagman at the crossing was unsuccessful in his attempts to stop the automobile. The driver's blood alcohol level was 0.14 percent and the passengers' blood alcohol levels were 0.10 and 0.09 percent. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the automobile driver to make a proper approach to a known, identified crossing, and his failure to respond to the flagman's signals or to observe the train at, or on, the crossing until it was too late to avoid impact. The driver's failure to respond probably was caused by the influence of alcohol.
Southern Pacific Transportation Company Freight Train/Automobile Grade Crossing Collision, Tracy, California. March 9, 1975
1976
32 pages
Report
No indication
English
Transportation Safety , Railroads , Automobiles , Accident investigations , Intersections , Railroad signals , Motor vehicle operators , Attention , Blood chemical analysis , Alcoholic beverages , Collisions , Death , Railroad accidents , Drinking drivers , Railroad/highway accidents , Railroad/highway crossings