Train-truck crashes, by the numbers
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Frequency of "incidents" involving trucks in railroad crossings nationwide each week: 10
Number of federal laws specifically requiring railroads be informed before oversized truckloads cross tracks: 0
Number of years the National Transportation Safety Board campaigned to make truck drivers responsible for warning railroads before giving up: 12
Cost of requiring trucking companies to share permitted routes with railroads: Negligible
Cost of Positive Train Control, the high-tech alternative promoted by railroads: $15 billion
Mandated deadline for implementing Positive Train Control: End of 2015
Extension railroad industries are pushing for: 2020.
Number of accidents the NTSB says this high-tech system could have prevented during the 47 years it has been pushing for it: 144
Number of injuries: 6,500
Fatalities: 300
Number of truck-train collisions that Positive Train Control can prevent if railroads aren't told to slow trains down before oversized tractor-trailers try to cross: 0
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Sources:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, American Association of Railroads; AP research; railroad experts
