RAILROADACCIOENTINVESTIGATION

Reporr No. 3993

MOTORCARRIER I I.IVESTIGATI Oi{

Repod No. 83

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GRANDTRUNKWESTERNRAILROADCOMPANY
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PRE.F'AB TRANSIT CO.

i^rJ,\Dr n.rTF t\,iT/rH

IB, 1963
APRTL
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, t COMMISSION
INTERSTATECOMMERCE

- Woshington
 3993-MC
83
2

SUMMARY

$ 0 s
'
D Ar E : APril 18, 1963

RAILRoADT G r o n dT r u n k W e s f e r n

M O T O RC A R R | E R T p r e . F c b T r . o n s i tC o ,

L o c A . Tl o N : Chorlofie, Mich,

KI N D O F A C C T D E N T ! Collision

E Q U I P M E N TI N V O L V E D : P o s s e n g el r q i n Molorlrucrk

T R A I NN U M B E R T 15

L O C OM OT I V E N U M BE R S . D i e s e l - e l e c t r iucn i t s
4951, 4916

C ON S I S T S T 8 cors T r o c t o r ,s e m i t r o i l e r

E S T I M A T E Ds P E E D S : 78m.p.h. Slow

o P E RA T t o N : S i g n o li n d i c o t i o n s

TRACKS: D o u b l e t; o n g e n t ; 0 . 5 4
percent o scending grode

HloHwAY! 2 - L o n e ; t o n g e n t ;l e v e l I
t
WEAT.HER: Cleor

TIME! 5 : 5 2o . m .

CASUALTTES: I killed; 27 iniured

cAUsEr M o t o r t r u c kb e i n g d r i v e n o n t o o r o i l - h i g h w o yg r o d ec r o s s i n g
immediotely in front of on opproochingtroin.
 '.v 3993.MC83

TNTERsTATE
Goi{MERcE
douxtsstox

h A T L R o A DA C c t De N T t N v € s r t c A T t o N

REPORTNO,3993

M O T O RC A R h I € RI N V ES T i C A T I O N

REPORT NOJ g'

IN THE MATTEROF MAK1NGACCIDENTINVESTIGAT]ON REPORTSUNDER

THE ACCIDENTREPORTS A C T O F MAYO. I 9 l O , A N DT HE MOTOR
CARR]ERACT OF AUGUST 9, 1935,
AS AMENDED

Grond Trunk Wettern Rsllroqd Cbmpony

Pre.Fcb Trcn:it Ccnipony

Jonuary2011964

Acc.ident neqr Chqrlottel Mich., on April I8, 1963r cqused by o motortruck being dtiven
onto u rqilrhighwqy grode crossing immediotely in front o{ dn opproqch.ing trqin'

REPORTOF THE COMMISSION

BOARDNO.1:
SAFETYANDSERYICE
MOTOR BOARDNO.2:
CARRIER

On April 18, 1963,neqr Charlotte, Michr, there wqs q collisidn between q motoftuck qnd
q pqssenger trqin on the Grond Tn.rnk Western Rdilrocdl which resulted in the deoth of I hqirl-
service employee qhd in the injury of 3 trqin-service employees, 4 roilwoy post office employees,
1 ond 20 pdssenqers,
 4

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9 !.n.lng.. ft&h.
| 17.+ c!,
t Pol.rit of racident
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Trunk !,restern Ralllosd ]
charlotte. vlch.
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T.ocror of molorf.uck involved, Note clothes obsi.ucfing view rh.oush window

on rieht siJe of cob.

Sen:irdiler ond lood sinilor ro thor involved in occideni.

 3993.MC
83
)

L o c q l i o n o { A c c i d e n t o n d M e l h o d o f R o i l r o o dO p e r o f i o n

This qccident occurred on thot port of the Chicogo Divlsion of the Grqnd Trunk Western
Roilrood extending between Lonsing, \,'Jich.,ond Chicqgo, 111.,224.9 miles. In the vicinity ol
the point o{ qccident this is o double-trock line over which trqins moving wrth the current of
boffic ore operoted by slqnol indicotions ol on qutomqtic block-signoi syster . At Chorlotte,
Mich,, I8.5 miles west of Lonsing, o sidinq 4,658 Ieet in lenqth porollels the westwqrd mqin
trock on the north. The eost switch of this siding is obout I mile --ost of the stotion.

The qccident occurred on the westword moin trock l.l miles eost of the stotion ot Chqr-
lotte, where the moin trocks qre crossed ot grode by Pqckqrd Hiqh\acy. From the eqst on the
oO0' cuJve to
westwqrd moin trock there ore, ln succession, ,J tongent 5.3 mrles in length, q I
the left I,677 feei, ond o tongent 399 leet to the point of occident ond q consideroble distance
westword, ln the vicinity of the crossing, the overoge grode for westbound troins is 0.54 per-
cent oscending. In this vicinity the mqin ti'ocks ond the srding ore lqid on o fill obout 12 feet
in height.

D o c k c l o H i g \ w . - r yo, c o J T t y i o o o . - s 2 o e o ' w i d e o n o i s s r l o c - d w i l n g r o v e . [ t i n r e l -
. - c t s L h e L o i l r o o do . o i o n g - eo - 5 t " 1 9 ' . P l o l \ n o - s l q i d o l o r q L n eo r l s i d e o . e a c h r o - lo n d
between the rqils of eqch moin trqck throughout the width of the crossing. The remorningoreo
of the crossing is surfqced wiih bituminous moteriol. The highwoy is tonqent throughouto con-
siderqble distqnce northwqrd ond southwqrd, From the south on the highwoy, the qverqge grode
is 5.9 percent oscending q distqnce al 276 feel, ihen level 24 teet to the crossinq. The grode
is level over the crossing to o point 22 feet northword, ond is 5,0 percent decending throughout
q short distonce forther northworu,

A . - u j o r - o j . r o o d - . r o s".l q q o / o n c e - ^ or ' r o s i o r , 3 0 ' r \ o s i r d ' o - - l ' - , i s l o c o i - d o d -

jqcent to the eqst slde of Pqckcrd Hiqhwqy qt o point 314 {eet solrLhoI Lhecrossinq. Thrs sign
beqrs two intersectinq diogonoi stripes qnd the letters "RR" in blqck on q yellow bockground.
A crossbuck rqihoqd-crossing wornlnq siqn is qdjqcent to the eost side of the hrghwoy 38 feet
south ol the center of the crossing. This sign is mountedon q most ot q height of S leet 3 inch-
es obove ihe level of the hlghwqy surfqce. It beors "RAILROAD CROSSING" in STrinch blqck
refleclorized letters on o yellow bockground. Another sign, beoring "2 TRACKS" in reflector-
'?a.l
hld.L a" ^,-ll-" haeLnrn'nrl i nlrnrhad n rhc mosr .i d hainhr nl A loo I inehoc nhnro

the level of the highwoy surfoce, Similqr roilrood-crossingwcrninq signs ore ottoched to o rnost
in the northwest onqle of the crossing.

A crossing-whistle sign for westbound troins is iocoted 1,492 feet eost ol the crossrnq.

The mqximum quthorized speed foi posseoqer lroins rn the vicinity o{ the qccident is
79 miles per hour.

Operqtlngrules of the Grond Trunk WesternFoilrood reod in port qs follows:

14. ENGINE WHISTLE SIGNALS

ly'ofe.. '* * * fte siEnals are illusttated by 'to" fot sfiort sounds; "'-"
for ronge. sounds. *' * *
 3993-MC
83
SOUND INDICATION

(1) - (1) At whistle posts.

(2) At least r/a mile frcm every
public cross.ine at
eftde
, * * to be prclonEed ot te-
Peated * * * unfil fle cross-
ing is occupied by the
engine of cars.

17, The headllEht must be disp/ayed to the kont ot every ttain by

day and by nietu. ,t * *

30. The engine bell must be fi.ne * * * ya of a nite fton e\rety prbtic
ctossine at grade * * * unfit fie crossin€ is occupied by enEine o? cats.

Provisions o{ the Michigon Stqte Motor Vehicle Code reod in port qs follows:

sec. 669 (a) The d vet oI * * x any motot vehicre weiehinE ovet
10,000 potmds, includinE the load theteon, betorc crcssine at Eftde
' any tftck or tracks of a raitroad, stait sfop such vefiicle within 50
feet but not less tnan t0 feet from the nearcst rail ot s,ch ftitroad and
nhile so stopped sfia listen and took in both directjons alonE such
track for any appoachine ttain, and for signats indicating the appoach
oI a tftin, * * * artd shalt not proceed untit he can do so safe.ly. x * :*

I. C. C. Motor Corrier Solety Reguloiions reod in pqrt qs follows:

Sec. 191.13 Driver's past rccod,

In addition to the othet qtalifications reqttired by this part,

motot ca'riets shall in the emplo!\nent and use of d vers and tro,l
time ta time thete-aftet in continuinE drivers in their service ejve due
consideration to the following facto"s where they exist:

(a) Violation or lar',s o. 'egulaftons * * *,

(b) The dtiver's accident recotd * * *

Motor caftiers shall maintain ard preserve as a patt of each

drivet's personnel rccod a summaty of all dtiver acls and offenses
which are within the pufliew of rlris secfion. In addition to the pe odic
review oI sucfi records as contemplated by this rceulation, moto, cab
.iers sfiall specitically rcview the indivictual reco"d ot a driver when he
is involved in a seliors accident to the end that 'eckless or accidenf-
prcne drivers may not continue to dtive vehicles as a hazad to the
public safety.

Sec. 196.2 Inspection and Maintenance

Every motor .aftiet shall systematicatly inspect and taintain,

o. cause to be systematically maintained, atl notor vehicles subjec, fo
 3993,MC
83

its conttol, tnd the accessories requited by Patt 193 of tais sarcftap-
tef, to be mounted thereon, to insure that sucfi motor vefticles and ac-
cessorjes a.e ]n safe and proper opefttinE condition. * ,t *

The Molor Corrier

The motortruckwqs operqted by Pre-Fob Tronsit Co., Fffmer City, IIl., o commoncorrrer
of specified commoditiesover irrequlor routes, servinq o lorge portion of the continentql United
Stotes under quthority contqined in our certificqte numberMC-107295. The tronsportotionbeing
performed qt the time of the occident consisled of o shipment oI 45,792 pounds of structurol
steel beqms from Decotur, I11., to o construction site in the northwest qngle of the crossing
where the occident occurred.

The Motortruck

The motortruckwos o combinotion vehicle, consisting o{ q 1957 Mock troctor qnd q i960
Highwoy semitroiier. The troctor, Model 8:61-T, wos o{ conventionol cob design without q sleep-
e r b c r t n , l r w e ; g r e d 1 1 , 2 0 0p o ' i d s , o n d r q s p r o v . d e dw i ' h o - 7 0 - h o r s e p o w od i e s o l e n g ' ' 1 e o
,
g-speed lronsmission, ond two lqndem reqr qxles hqving duol wheels. Only one of the tondem
qxles wqs powered. The troctor wos owned by the driver, hqving been purchosed 'rused" on
Februory 23, 1962. It wqs leqsed to the motor cquier on Mqy 3, 1962, ond corried q detqchqble
sign on eoch side ol Lhe cob to indicqte .thot the nqme of the operoting corrier wos Pre-Fqb
Trqnslt Co.

The semitrqiler wqs oI fiot-bed design qnd hod tqndemqxles with duol wheels. Its liqht-
weiqht wos 8,500 pounds.

The motortruck wqs equipped with oir brqkes throughout, The overoll length wcs 48
l e e l 9 i i c h e s , o n d h - i o r o ' { e j c i lI o l l n - v ^ h j c l e o n l t \ e c o r q o w o s 6 7 , 8 0 0p o u n d s .

Exqminotion of the irqctor qfter the occident disclosed q lqck of proper mqintenqnce.
AiI eiqht tires ol the reqr tondem oxles were smooth or neorly smooth (locking treod config-
urqtion) qnd one wos worn throuqh one ply of fobric. Greose wos leoking from the right front
wheel of the londemteqr oxles, ond the suspensionossembly wqs defective. Bushing on rodius
tods were completely worn out, permitting the oxles to shift in relqtion to the frome. There
wqs no indicqtion, however, of ony defective mechonicol condition of the troctor which might
hove contributed to the cquse of the qccident. Since the semitrdller wos destroyed in the occi-
denir its prior condition could not be determined.

The Truck Driver

The driver, who wqs 36 yeors of oge, wqs q resident of Grond Ropids, Mlch., ond wos
first employed by Pre-Fob Tronsit Co., on Mqy 3, 1962, coincidentol with the trqctor leose
ortqngement. He held q volid Mtchigon chquffeur's license ond wos ossigned by the motor cor-
rier to drive his own trqctor. A doctorts certificote, doted April 30, 1962, showed thot he wqs
physicoily quqlified under our regulqtions to operote motor vehicles in interstqte commerce.

Personnel records kept by Pre-Fcb Trqnslt Co. on this driver were limited. Files of
previous employers showed this driver hod worked for ot leqst four other motor corriers prior to
 399?-MC
83
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his employment by Pre-Fob rronsit co. The lost previous emproyer, s lorge interstqte motor
cqrrier, employed the driver between June 1955 ond Aprll 1962. This corrier,s records showed
the driver hod ,rm,lssed qt ]eqst 29 notices or reprimonds for infroctious of compony or govern-
ment regulqtions. These injrqctions included instqnces of improper doily driving logs, false
logs, foilure to remii logs or other trip records, ond foilure to supply vehlcle mqintenqncein-
formqtion. such records qre required under our sqfety regulqtions. Thqt cffrierrs lecords con-
tqined reference to nine qccidents in which the driver wqs involved, the mosi recent occuuing
June 13, 1959. The driver wqs olso involved in qn occident on July 26, 1962, while employed
by Pre-Fob Tronsit Co. Detoils of this occident were not ovoiloble.

Informqtion obtqined from Mlchiqon Stote authorities pertqining to the driver,s qccident
ond orrest record is os follows:

n,\..].E.
OFFENCE: RESUI-T:

July 28, 1946 Accident License slxpended

July 19,1954 Ron o red light Foi.led to qnswer
summons
Morch16, 1955 Wrong woy on one-wqy Convicted
slreet
Mqv9, 1955 Speeding Fqiied to qnswer
summor]S
M o y1 2 , 1 9 5 5 Ron o red liqht Convicted
J u n e8 , 1 9 5 5 Speeding Fqiled to qnswer
summons
Octoberl, 1955 Rqn o stop sign Convicted
Jonuory19, 1956 No chqu{feurfs iicense Convicted
Jqnuqry7, 1957 Foilowing too close Convicted
September 23, 1959 Speeding Convlcted
M o y1 0 ,i 9 6 2 Speeding Convicted
October5, 1962 Speeding Convicted
J o n u o r y2 8 , . 1 9 6 3 Speeding Convicted
FebrucryI L, 1963 Speeding Convicted

The driverrs doilv loqs indicqte he hqd been off duty 16 hours 30 minutes when the trip
involved wqs begun. In the l8%-hour period from ll:30 o.m,, April 17, until the timeof the
qccident, he hqd driven 8 hours 30 minutes, The distonce from
Decotur to the point of qccident
is qpproximqteiy 330 mlles, indicoting ihot the motortruck proceeded en route from Decqtur qt
on qverqge speed of 38.7 miles per nour,

A summca.yof the driver's qctivities during this p e r i o d o s r e l o i e d i r o m h i s l o g s , o n d

s t q t e r e - t s b y l i m i r i n t e . v , e w s_, s o s f o l l o w s :

Aprlr I / I 1 : 3 0q , m . Reported for duty ot on duty 30 min.

Decotur
Arrived Gory, Ind. off duty 30 m1.n.
5 : 3 0p . m . Left Gory driving 3 hrs,
8 : 3 0p . m . Arrived Bottie Creek off duty g hrs.45 min.
 3993-MC83
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April 1B 5:]5 o.m. Lefi Bqttle Creek driving I hr,

/ri-6 ^{ -^-,.loFt
6:l\ o.-. rvo-vod n o^^idert
officiolly record-
ed os 5:52o.m.)

D e s c r i o ifo n o { A c c i d e n t

No. 15, o westbound first.closs pdssenqertroin, consisted of rood-switcher |ype dieseL.

cqr, I bog-
electric units 495I ond 4916, coupted in multlple-unit control, 1 exptess cgl, I mqil
gcrgecor,2coochesond3sleepingcors,inthotorder'Thecorswereofoll-steelconstruction'
qt 5:37
The 3rd cor wos equipped with tiqhtlock couplers' This trqin depqrted {rom Lonsing
o.m., 21 minutes loi.,-ond obout I5 minutes loter, while moving on the westwqrd mqin trqck ot

o speed of qpp.oximotely 78 mlles per hour, occording to the engineer, it struck the motorhuck
grode
ot q point 1.1 miles eost of the stqtion qt Chorlotte, where the moin trqcks ore crossed ot
by PqckcrrdHighwqy.

The motortruck wqs moving northword on the hiqhwoy ot slow speed when it entered the
crossing ond wos struck by the troin.

oreo
As q result of the collision, the lst diesel-eLectricunit of No' 15 cought fire in the
o{ the control comportmentneor the reqr, or east, end'

diesel-electric
No. 15 stopped with the front end 604 feet west o{ the crossing' Both
qt both ends of the 2nd diesel-electric
units qnd o118 cqrs were deroiled. Seporotionsocculled
front, or long
unit qnd the 2nd cor. The lst diesel-electric unit stopped on its lelt side with ihe
ol the rqilrood iill
hood, end focing eostwold qt o point qbout 20 feet north of the north slope
qnd with the reor end qt the toe ol this slope. The 2nd unit stopped on its tight sjde, on the
northsiopeofihefill,inopositionporolleltoiheLrockstructureondolongsidethelstunit'
immediotelyto
The 1st qnd 2nd cors stopped on their right sides, on the north slope of the fill'
The other cors stopped upright in vorious locotions on the
the reqr of the diesel-electric units.
qnd of the siding qnd the westword moin trqck qs indl-
north slope of the fill the structures
qnd the 2nd, 3rd ond
coted in the sketch ot the front of this report. Both diesel-electric units
6th cors were heovily domoged. The other 5 cors wete somewhot domoqed'

ThetrqinStruckthemotodluckotopointneolthecenterolthesemitlqilel.Thetroctor
leet north of
wos seporoted from the semitrqiler. It stopped upright on the highwoy obout 50
wos destroyed' The cqrgo qnd portions
the crossing qnd wqs slightiy domoged. The semltroiler
t o u n o q
s r e w e d o ' 1 oo o ' h s d " s o I L h o ' r o k s ' r L ' l u i a w e s l o 'trre ctoss-
o tne sen'rfqi e worc
ing.

ThefiremonofNo.}5wosfotollyinjured.Theengineer'theconductorqndtheflont
brokemonwere injured. The driver of the motortruckwos uninjrued'

ot this time'
The occldent occurred qbout 5:52 o'm', ot sunrise' The weqther wcs cleqr

During the 30-doy period immediotely precedinq the doy ol the' occident' the overoge
period beginning 8 o'm./
doily movementover the crossing was 22.3 troins. Durlng the 24-hour
 3993-MC83
l0

April 30,1963, q totol of 203 hiqhwoy vehicles movedover the crossing.

The locomotiv6 of No. 15 wos equipped with speed-recordingdevices. These devices,

however, ot the time of the qccident were not provided wrlh topes on which the speed is recorded.

From ony point on Pockqrd Highwoy between the rqilrood-crossing odvonce-worningsign

qnd the crossinq, the driver of q northboundmotor vehicle hos o good view of ony v,restbound
troin opproochlng Lhe crossing throughout e distonce of obout l% miles eqstword. (See photo-
q r o o Lo l r h e t r o n o l [ n s _ e o o r L ; .

D i s c us s i on

As No. 15 closely qpproqchedthe crossing where the occident occurred, the engineer
qnd the firemqn were in the control compqrtmentneqr the reor ol the flrst diesel-electric unlt.
The conducior ond the front brokemonwere rn the Iourlh ccr, qnd the flqgmqn wos in the reor cqr.
The brokes hod been tested qnd hod {unctioned properly when used en route. The heqdliqht
wqs llghted briqhtly cnd the loco,.notivebell wos ringinq, occording to the engineer. While the
prescribed signol wos being sounded on the locomotive horn in opprooch to the crossing, the
firemon observed the molortruck on Pqckad Hlqhwoy ond reolized it wos qbout to enter the
crossing immedioteiy in front of the troin. The engineer heord the flremon cqll o wo-nlng ond
promptly initiqted on emergencyopplicotion of the brokes. The troin then entered the crossing
cnd stfuck the motortruck before its speed wqs moteriolly reduced.

Becouse of the long enqine hood in lront ol the control compqrtment,ond his position on
the north, or right, side oI this compqrtmeni,the enqineerrs view of the hiqhwoy south of the
crossing wos considerobly restricied while the troin opproochedthe crossing. He soid he did
not see the motortruck untll just before the qccident occurred. The liremoi wos fotolly injured
in the occident, qnd detoiis concernlng his observqtions in opprooch to the crossinq could not
be oblo ined. The conductor, the front brokemon, qnd the flogmqn were unqwqre of onything
wrong until the collision occurred. The front brokemonlooked throuqh o window of the Iourth
cq- os the trqin moved off the west end of the cnrve rn oppiooch to the crossing. At this time
he gllmpsed the motortruckmovrnq northwordon the hrghwoy in opprooch to the crossing. Since
the occident occutred soon ofterword hc th.,rdht thp m^t^rt.,-1. did not Siop before enterino the
c r os s i n g .

A witness, who wos working qt q construction site locoteC qbout one-hqlf mile lrorn the
crossins, hecrd the sound of the collision. He soid thol before the qccident occurred he heord
qt leost three lonq biosts of q locornotive horn, the lost blost ending obout 3 seconds
before he
heord the sound o{ the impoct.

Exominqtion qfter the occident disclosed the stuctures ol the westword moin trock ond
lhe siding were destroyed throughoutdistonce of 525 feet west oI the crossing ond 503 feet west
of the eost siding-switch, respectl\,ely. It is oppqrent fiom lhe dqmqqeto the trocks ond the
Dositlons in which the troin equipmentsiopped thot os o result of the impoct, trucks of the ioco-
motiv-' deroiied to the norih ot o point immediotely west ol-the west side of the crossing. Thls
deroiled equipmentthen struck the froq o'rd roils o{ the eqst turnout of the sidinq, cqusing the
generol deroilment to occur.
 3993'MC 83
ll

vehicle ot o point within o distqnce of

The driver ol the molortruck soid he stopped his
in both directions before drlving onto
50 feet from the neorest trock, then listened ond looked
of on opproochingtrqin ot this
the crossing. He soid he neither sow nor heord ony indicotion
the motortruck northword in lirst
time. Accordinq to his stotements, the driver lhen storted
entered the crossing' He
geor, ond shiited into second geor immedlotely belore the vehicle
ofter the iroctor moved over ond cle'f,red
first becqmeqwffe ol the opproochingtrqin immedioiely
heodliqht of the trqin ond he'lrd the sound
the westwffd mqin trock, when he lfst observed the
the motortruck in on ottempt to move
of the locomotlve horn. He soid he promptly occeleroted
the collision occurred immediotelyofter-
the semitrqiler cleor ol the *e"t**.d moln trock, ond
wqrd.

the night before thef,ccident'

The driver gove conflicting qccounts o{ how he spent
n'' ollegedly in the vicinlty ol Bott]e Creek' He lirst stoted
thot he pcrked on the streel qnd spent
he then soid he porked the truck in
thu nlqLt in o motel. When thLS stotement wos disproved'
her porenLs in Hostlnqs' Mich' The
o service stotlon, on.l lvos otlven by his wife to the home of
odvice ol counsel, but the ser-
wlfe qnd her relotives dec.Linedto onsweJ questions without the
ol the truck on the niqht ln question'
vrce stotlon personneldelinitelY dlscloimed ony knowledge qctuolly spent
known if the driver
Theretore, in the obsence or relioble inlormotion, it ls not qccurqcy oi
cLoimed' Accordrnglv' the
ony oppreciqble time in the vicinitY of Bottle Creek os
his dqily loqs is olso open to question'

to ossume thot the driver could

Wilhoutrelying upon the log inlormotion' it is reosonoble
occident without exceeding our lmito'
hove mode the 330-mile trip trom Decotur to the point of
wqs not off duty for su{ficient tlme' os
tion ol len hours drlvrng tlme. However, if the driver
eLigible to drive olter hoving been on
contempLetedby our regulotions, he would not hove been
qs to his dutv stotus during the
duty Ior fifteen hours. In the obsence of reliqble informqtlon
wqs, in loct, eligibie to drive ot
time in question, it is not possibLe to determine il this driver
the time of the qccldent.

liqht slde o{ the cob in po-

After the occident, some cloihing wos found honqing on the
window, i{ the driver exerted no bodily
sition to obscure vision throuqh the reqr holi oi the side
wos cleor of obstructions' being
effort to compensotefor the obstruction' The reo cqb window
opprooch presentedby the trqck
obove the level ol the iood ot steel' Becouse oi the ongle of
visible to lhe driver through the real win-
curvotufe, some portron of lhe trqin would hove been
to the crossing' Thls informqtion wos de-
dow of the cob during most ol the driver's opprooch
Llsinq o similorlv orronged truck' Also of
veloped throuqh tests subsequent to the occideni
reportedJy coincided with oifrciol sunrise
importonce is the tqct thqt the time ol the occldenl
sun wos octuolly in view or in o po-
for the me,r, The truck wos qolng northwest. lVhetherthe
sition to interfere with the driver's vlsion connot be determined'

oncominq troln in violotion ot

The truck wos driven onto the crassing ln front of the
before drlvinq onto the crossrng ls
Stote qnd FederqLregulotrons, Wheiher he octuoLly stopped
lhe dir-'ction of the troin wos portiolly
not known. It is evident thqt lhe truck driver's vlsion in
which mov hove influenced his
obscured by the clothes honqing inside tl.recob' Other lqctors
however' the driver did not erer-
octions could not be developed with certointY' It is evident'
cise the necessory coution belore driving onto lhe ctossrnq'
 3993-MC
83
12

Cquse

This qccident wos cqused by o motortruck being driven onto o roil-highwoy grode cross-
ing immediotely in front of on opprooching troin.

Dqted qt Wqshinqton,D. C., this twentieth

doy of Jonuoy, 1964,

By the Commission, Sofety qnd Service Bood No. l

and Motor Cqrrier Boqrd No. 2.

(SEAL) HAROLDD. MCCOY,

Secretory.

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