According to a new report from the Federal Railroad Administration, there were 14 fatalities in Kentucky last year resulting from collisions between trains and motor vehicles. That’s down from 17 in 2012 and 21 in 2011. However, it’s more than double the number of people killed in 2009 when Kentucky reached a ten-year low of six fatalities.
Retired railroad engineer Wayne Gentry is the Kentucky coordinator of Operation Lifesaver. That’s a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing car-train accidents. He says most fatalities at railroad crossings happen because of carelessness by the motor vehicle operator…
Gentry says motorists stand a better chance of surviving a collision with a tractor-trailer than they do with a 6,000 ton train.