Article & Journal Resources

By RICK MILLS
Sun Executive Editor

Do flashing warning lights at railroad crossings save lives?

Of course they do. Absolutely. Without a doubt.

If they didn't, we wouldn't spend the money to install them.

Knowing that a train is approaching is enough to make even the most daredevil drivers slow down and take a look.

A debate over that topic ensued after the tragic accident a week ago that killed two local residents north of town.

One reader from Ohio blasted us for quoting Dan Benjamin, who lives right next to the Baseline Road crossing where the deaths occurred.

Appropriately describing the crash as a "tragedy," Benjamin said the lack of warning lights made it "an accident waiting to happen."

The Ohio reader argued that we should never have used that quote because it's obvious the intersection is sufficiently marked.

First, that's true. A railroad crossing sign, a stop-ahead sign and a stop sign warn drivers three separate times.

In this particular accident, as in many railroad crossing accidents, the driver ignored all three and, according to police, apparently made no effort to even slow down.

Clearly, the decision had been made – consciously or absent-mindedly – to run the stop sign.

But to argue that Benjamin's opinion is wrong and that flashing lights would not save lights is ridiculous.

Another reader, from Charlevoix, made a similar argument . While admitting how sad the crash was, and pointing out how it changed the lives of family members forever, he chastised us for hinting that lights could have changed the outcome.

"Our laws must be respected, and the stories written by the press should be accurate and complete so that maybe people can learn that they must take responsibility and not try to blame somebody else for their actions," he wrote.

Both of those critics are, of course, completely correct.

In fact, in the rural area where I grew up, most railroad crossings were marked by yield signs.

They've since been changed to stop signs.

But the truth is – when you think about it – yield signs are all we need. In a perfect world, where everyone paid attention and obeyed all the laws, yield signs would prevent all accidents.

Plain and simple, a yield sign tells us we do not have the right of way and somebody else does. We have to let them go and then proceed with caution.

But for many reasons – hidden views, strange lay of the land, high traffic, efficient traffic flow – planners move from yield signs to stop signs, four-way stops and all kinds of traffic lights.

And at railroad crossings, they move from yield signs to stop signs to flashing warning lights to gated crossings.

I'm not a traffic engineer nor an expert on railroad crossings.

So I can't pretend to know whether that crossing, or any other, needs an upgraded warning.

I do know, though, that we don't live in the perfect world where all yield signs or stop signs are obeyed and nothing more is needed.

Some people get distracted, and some people intentionally disobey stop signs.

But to suggest that the same people would run a crossing when they knew a train was coming is ridiculous.

Last Saturday's accident was, indeed, a tragedy.

Blame aside, two lives were lost, and many more were changed forever. People make mistakes, and not every accident, no matter how tragic, requires a change to prevent future ones.

But a newspaper should never quiet voices or avoid discussing topics that might save lives.

At the very least, it's worth pondering.

(Rick Mills, executive editor, can be reached at rmills@ michigannewspapers.com)