icc re gtw charlotte 1963

8/14/2019 ICC Re GTW Charlotte 1963

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/icc-re-gtw-charlotte-1963 1/14

RAILROADACCIOENT NVESTIGATION

Reporr No. 3993

MOTORCARRIER I .IVEST GAT O {

Repod No. 83

,

GRANDTRUNKWESTERN AILROADCOMPANY

i

PRE.F'AB TRANSIT CO.

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

APRTLB, 1963

Il ,

,

INTERSTATECOMMERCE OMMISSION

- Wo hington

t



3993-MC32

S U M M A R Y

$ 0 s

DA E:'

APr i l 18 , 1963

R A I L R o A D T 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 ,

LocA.T o N: Chor lo f ie , M ich ,

K N D O F A C C T D E N T ! C o l l i s i o n

E Q U I P M E N TN V O L V E D : P o s s e n g e rr q i n M o l o r l r u c r k

T R A I N U M B E R T 1 5

L O C OM O V E NU M B R S . D i e s e l - e l e c t r i cn i t s

4951, 4916

CONSISTST 8 cors Troctor ,semi t ro i ler

E S T I M A T E D P E E D S : 7 8 m . p . h . S l o w

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

T R A C K S : D o u b l e ;o n g e n t ; 0 . 5 4percento scendinggrode

HloHwAY! 2-Lone; ongent ; evel

W E A T . H E R : C l e o r

T I M E ! 5 : 5 2o . m .

C A S U A L T T E S : I k i l l e d ; 2 7 n i u r e d

cAUsEr Motor t ruck e ingdr ivenonto o ro i l -h ighwoy rodecross ingimmediotey in front of on opprooching roin.



'.v 3993.MC 3

TNTERsTATEoi{MERcEouxtsstox

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

REPORT O,3993

M O T O R A R h I € R N V E T i C A T I O N

REPORT NOJ g'

IN THE MATTEROF MAK1NG CCIDENT NVESTIGAT]ON EPORTSUNDER

THE ACCIDENT EPORTS CT OFMAYO. 9lO,ANDTHE MOTOR

CARR]ER CT OF AUGUST , 1935,AS AMENDED

GrondTrunk Wettern Rsl lroqd Cbmpony

Pre.Fcb Trcn:i t Ccnipony

Jonuary2011964

Acc.ident neqr Chqrlottel Mich., on Apri l I8, 1963rcqused by o motortruck being dtiven

onto u rqilrhighwqygrode crossing immediotely in front o{ dn opproqch.ing rqin'

REPORTOF THE COMMISSION

SAFETY NDSERYICEOARD O.1:MOTOR ARRIEROARD O.2:

On Apri l 18, 1963,neqr Charlotte, Michr, there wqs q coll isidn betweenq 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

/".n/"n"

"t . rl-

/ - -9 !.n.lng.. ft&h.

| 17.+ c! ,

t Pol.rit of racident

I I. r 6{.p

char.lottet u!ch.| 2O2.rr D!.

iii ,"i,\ t i

i l i*fl*

l -"n"',..,"F ; | |

i5 . l

,{"YvI

. t .' , ], l

I

IIIIIII

Trunk !,restern Ralllosd ]charlotte. vlch.Apl t l l8r 196l

i

I_,1

-s ldlng

;ain track



t . ,i : .

T.oc ror o f molor f .uck involved, Note c lo thes obs i .uc f i ng v iew rh .oush w indow

on r i eh t s i Je o f cob.

Sen: i rdi ler ond l ood s ini lor ro thor involved in occ iden i .



3993.MC3)

Locq l i on o{ Acc iden t ond Melhodof Roi l roodOperof ion

This qccident occurred on thot port of the Chicogo Divlsion of the Grqnd Trunk Western

Roilrood extending between Lonsing, \ , 'Jich., nd Chicqgo, 111., 24.9 miles. In the vicinity ol

th e point o{ qccident this is o double-trock l ine over which trqins moving wrth the current of

boff ic ore operoted by slqnol indicotions ol onqutomqtic block-signoi

syster. At Chorlotte,

Mich,, I8.5 miles west of Lonsing, o sidinq 4,658 Ieet in lenqth porol lels the westwqrd mqin

trock on the north. The eost switch of this siding is obout I mile --ost of the stot ion.

The qccident occurredon the westword moin trock l. l miles eost of the stot ion ot Chqr-

lotte, where the moin trocks qre crossed ot grode by Pqckqrd Hiqh\acy. From the eqst on the

westwqrd moin trock there ore, ln succession, ,J tongent 5.3 mrles in length, q I oO0'cuJve o

the left I ,677 feei, ond o tongent 399 leet to th e point of occident ond q considerobledistance

westword, ln the vicinity of the crossing, the overogegrode fo r westbound roins is 0.54 per-

cent oscending. In this vicinity the mqin t i 'ocks ond th e srding ore lqid on o fil l obout 12 feet

in height.

Dockc loHig\w. - ry , coJTty iooo . - s 2o eo ' wide ono is sr loc-d wi ln grove . [ t inre l -. - c t s L h eL o i l r o o d . o i o n g - e - 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 rqi ls of eqch moin trqck throughout he width of the crossing. The remorningoreo

of the crossing is surfqcedwiih bituminous moteriol. The highwoy is tonqent throughouto con-

siderqble distqnce northwqrdond southwqrd, From the south on the highwoy, th e qverqgegrode

is 5.9 percent oscendingq 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 percentdecending hroughoutq short distonce forther northworu,

A . - u j o r o j . r o o d - . r o s ." l qq o / o n c e - ^ o ' r o s i o r , 3 0 ' r \ o s i r d ' o - - l ' - , i s l o c o i - do d -jqcent to the eqst slde of Pqckcrd Hiqhwqy qt o point 314 {eet solrLhoI Lh ecrossinq. Thrs sign

beqrs two intersectinq diogonoi str ipes 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 feetsouth ol the center of the crossing. This sign is mountedon q most ot q height of S leet 3 inch-

es obove he level of the hlghwqy surfqce. I t beors "RAILROAD CROSSING" n STrinchblqck

refleclorized letters on o yel low bockground. Another sign, beoring "2 TRACKS" in reflector-' ? a . l

h l d . L a " ^ , - l l - " h a e L n r n ' n r l i n l r n r h a d n r h c m o s r . i d h a i n h r n l A l o o I i n e h o c n h n r o

the level of the highwoy surfoce, Similqr roi lrood-crossingwcrninq signs ore ottoched to o rnost

in the northwest onqle of the crossing.

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

The mqximumquthorized speed fo i posseoqer lroins rn the vicinity o{ the qccident is

79 miles per hour.

Operqtlng ules 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. *' * *



INDICATION

3993-MC3

SOUND

(1) - (1) At whistle posts.

(2) At least r/amile frcm every

public cross.ine at eftde, * * to be prclonEed ot te-

Peated * * * unf i l f le cross-ing is occupied by the

engine of cars.

17, The headllEht must be disp/ayed to the kont ot every ttain byday and by nietu. ,t * *

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

Provisions o{ the Michigon Stqte MotorVehicle Code reod in port qs fol lows:

sec. 669 (a) The d vet oI * * x any motot vehicre weiehinE ovet10,000 potmds, includinE the load theteon, betorc crcssine at Eftde

' any tftck or tracks of a raitroad, stait sfop such vefiicle within 50feet but not less tnan t0 feet from the nearcst rail ot s,ch ftitroad andnhile so stopped sfia listen and took in both directjons alonE suchtrack for any appoachine ttain, and for signats indicating the appoachoI a tftin, * * * artd shalt not proceed untit he can do so safe.ly. x * :*

I. C. C. Motor Corrier Solety Reguloi ions eod in pqrt qs fol lows:

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,ltime ta time thete-aftet in continuinE drivers in their service ejve dueconsideration 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 eachdrivet's personnel rccod a summaty of all dtiver acls and offenseswhich are within the pufliew of rlris secfion. In addition to the pe odicreview oI sucfi records as

contemplated by this rceulation, moto, ca b.iers sfiall specitically rcview the indivictual reco"d ot a driver when heis involved in a seliors accident to the end that 'eckless or accidenf-prcne drivers may not continue to dtive vehicles as a hazad to thepublic safety.

Sec. 196.2 Inspection an d Maintenance

Every motor .aft iet shall systematicatly inspect an d ta in ta in ,o. cause to be systematically maintained, atl notor vehicles subjec, fo



3993,MC3

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 Corr ier

The motortruckwqs operqtedby Pre-FobTronsit Co., Fffmer City, IIl., o common orrrer

of specif ied commodit iesover irrequlor routes, servinq o lorge port ion of the continentql United

Stotes underquthority contqined in our cert i f icqte numberMC-107295. The tronsportotionbeingperformedqt the t ime of the occident consisled of o shipment oI 45,792 pounds of structurol

steel beqms from Decotur, I11., o o construction site in the northwest qngle of the crossing

where the occident occurred.

The Motortruck

The motortruckwos o combinotionvehicle, consist ing o{ q 1957 Mock troctor qnd q i960

Highwoysemitroiier. The troctor, Model8:61-T, wos o{ conventionol cob design without q sleep-

er bcr tn, l r we;gred 11,200po' ds, ond rqs prov .dedwi 'h o -70-horsepowo iesol eng ' '1e,g-speed ronsmission, ond two lqndem eqr qxles hqving duol wheels. Only one of the tondemqxles wqs powered. The troctor wos owned by the driver, hqving been purchosed rused" on

Februory 23, 1962. It wqs leqsed to the motorcquier on Mqy 3, 1962,ond corr ied q detqchqble

sign on eoch side ol Lhe cob to indicqte .thot the nqme of the operoting corrier wos Pre-Fqb

Trqnslt Co.

The semitrqi ler wqs oI f iot-bed designqnd hod tqndemqxles with duol wheels. It s l iqht-

weiqht wos 8,500 pounds.

The motortruck wqs equipped with oir brqkes throughout, The overol l length wcs 48

leel 9 i i ches, ond h- ioro ' {e jc i l o l ln- v^h j c le onl t \e corqowos 67,800pounds .

Exqminotion of the irqctor qfter th e occident disclosed q lqck of proper mqintenqnce.

AiI eiqht t i res 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 r ight front

wheel of the londem eqr oxles, ond the suspensionossembly wqs defective. Bushing on rodius

tods were completely worn out, permitting th e oxles to shift in relqt ion to the frome. There

wqs no indicqtion, however, of ony defective mechonicolcondit ion of the troctor which mighthove contr ibuted o the cquse of the qccident. Since the semitrdl ler wos destroyed n the occi-

denir it s prior condit ion could not be determined.

The Truck Driver

The driver, who wqs 36 yeors of oge, wqs q resident of Grond Ropids, Mlch., ond wo s

first employed by Pre-Fob Tronsit Co., on Mq y 3, 1962, coincidentol with the trqctor leose

ortqngement. He held q vol id Mtchigonchquffeur 's icense ond wos ossigned by th e motor cor-

rier to drive his own trqctor. A doctorts cert i f icote, doted April 30, 1962, showed hot he wqs

physicoi ly quql i f ied under our regulqt ions to operote motor vehicles in interstqte commerce.

Personnel records kept by Pre-Fcb Trqnslt Co. on this driver were limited. Fi les ofprevious employers showed his driver hod worked for ot leqst four other mot or corriers prior to



399?-MC38

his employment by Pre-Fob rronsit co. The lost previous emproyer, s lorge interstqte motorcqrrier, employed he driver between June 1955 ond Aprl l 1962. This corr ier,s records showedthe driver hod ,rm,lssed qt ]eqst 29 notices or reprimonds for infroctious of compony or govern-ment regulqt ions. These injrqctions included instqnces of improper doi ly driving logs, falselogs, foilure to remii logs or other trip records, ond foi lure to supply vehlcle mqintenqnce n-

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 occuuingJune 13, 1959. The driver wqs olso involved in qn occident on July 26, 1962,while employedby Pre-Fob Tronsit Co . Detoi ls of this occident were not ovoi loble.

Informqtionobtqined from Mlchiqon Stote authorit ies pertqining to the driver,s qccidentond orrest record s os fol lows:

n , \ . . ] . E .

July 28, 1946Ju ly 19,1954

Morch16, 1955

Mqv9, 1955

Moy12,1955June , 1955

October , 1955Jonuory 9, 1956Jqnuqry , 1957September3, 1959

Moy10, 962October , 1962Jonuory 8, .1963Februcry L, 1963

A summca.y f the driver 's

s t q t e r e - t sb y l i m i r i n t e . v , e w s , s

OFFENCE:

Accident

Ron o red l ight

Wrongwoy on one-wqy

slreet

Speeding

Ro n o re d l iqht

Speeding

Rq n o stop sign

No chqu{feurfs icense

Foilowing too close

Speeding

SpeedingSpeeding

Speeding

Speeding

qctivi t ies during this

os fo l lows:

Reported for duty otDecotur

Arrived Gory, Ind.

Left GoryArrived Bottie Creek

per iod os re lo ied i rom his l ogs , ond

RESUI-T:

License slxpended

Foi.led to qnswer

summonsConvicted

Fqiied to qnswer

summor]S

Convicted

Fqiled to qnswer

summons

Convicted

Convicted

Convicted

Convlcted

Convicted

Convicted

Convicted

Convicted

on duty 30 min.

off duty 30 m1.n.

driving 3 hrs,

off duty g hrs.45 min.

The driverrs doi lv loqs indicqte he hqd been off duty 16 hours 30 minutes when th e tripinvolved wq s begun. In the l8%-hour period from ll:30 o.m,, April 17, unti l the t imeof theqccident, he hqd driven 8 hours 30 minutes, The distonce from Decotur to th e point of qccidentis qpproximqteiy330 mlles, indicoting ihot the motortruckproceededen route from Decqturqton qverqge speed of 38.7 miles per nour,

Aprlr I / I 1:30 ,m.

5:30p.m.

8:30p.m.



3993-MC 3

April 1B

g

5:]5 o.m. Lefi Bqttle Creek

6: \ o. - . rvo-vod n o^^ ider t

driving I hr,/ r i - 6 ^ { - ^ - , . l o F t

officiolly record-

ed os 5 :52o.m. )

Descr io fon o { Acc iden t

No. 15, o westbound irst.closs pdssenqer roin, consisted of rood-switcher ype dieseL.

electric units 495I on d 4916, coupted n mult lple-unit control, 1 exptess cgl, I mqil cqr, I bog-

g c r g e c o r , 2 c o o c h e s o n d 3 s l e e p i n g c o r s , i n t h o t o r d e r ' T h e c o r s w e r e o f o l l - s t e e l c o n s t r u c t i o n '

The 3rd cor wos equipped with t iqhtlock couplers' This trqin depqrted {rom Lonsing qt 5:37

o.m., 21 minutes loi.,-ond obout I5 minutes loter, while moving on the westwqrd mqin trqck ot

o speed of qpp.oximotely78 mlles per hour, occording to the engineer, it struck th e motorhuck

ot q point 1.1 miles eost of the stqtion qt Chorlotte,where th e moin trqcks ore crossed ot grode

by Pqckcrrd ighwqy.

The motortruckwqs moving northwordon th e hiqhwoy ot slow speed when it entered he

crossing ond wos struck by the troin.

As q result of th e col l ision, th e ls t diesel-eLectr icunit of No ' 15 cought fire in the oreo

o{ the control comportment eor th e reqr, or east, end'

No. 15 stopped with th e front end 60 4 feet west o{ th e crossing' Both diesel-electr ic

units qnd o118 cqrs were deroi led. Seporotionsoccul led qt both ends of the 2nddiesel-electr ic

unit qnd the 2nd cor. The lst diesel-electr ic unit stoppedon i ts lelt side with ih e front, or long

hood, en d focing eostwold qt o point qbout 20 feet north of the north slope ol the rqi lrood iil l

qnd with th e reor end qt th e toe ol this slope. The 2nd unit stoppedon i ts t ight sjde, on th e

n o r t h s i o p e o f i h e f i l l , i n o p o s i t i o n p o r o l l e l t o i h e L r o c k s t r u c t u r e o n d o l o n g s i d e t h e l s t u n i t '

The 1st qn d 2nd cors stopped on their r ight sides, on the north slope of the fil l ' immediotely o

th e reqr of the diesel-electr ic units. The other cors stoppedupright in vorious locotions on the

north slope of the f i l l qnd the structures of th e siding qnd th e westword moin trqck qs indl-

coted in the sketch ot the front of this report. Both diesel-electric units qnd th e 2nd, 3rd on d

6t h cors were heovi ly domoged. The other 5 cors wete somewhotdomoqed'

T h e t r q i n S t r u c k t h e m o t o d l u c k o t o p o i n t n e o l t h e c e n t e r o l t h e s e m i t l q i l e l . T h e t r o c t o r

wos seporotedfrom the semitrqi ler. It stopped upright on the highwoy obout 50 leet north of

th e crossing qnd wqs sl ightiy domoged. The semltroi lerwos destroyed' The cqrgo qnd portions

o tne sen ' r fq i e worc tounos rewedq o '1ooo 'h s d"s o I Lho ro k s ' rL ' lu ia wesl o ' t r re c toss-

ing.

T h e f i r e m o n o f N o . } 5 w o s f o t o l l y i n j u r e d . T h e e n g i n e e r ' t h e c o n d u c t o r q n d t h e f l o n t

brokemonwere injured. Th e driver of the motortruckwo s uninjrued'

The occldent occurredqbout 5:52 o'm', ot sunrise' The weqther wcs cleqr ot this t ime'

During th e 30-doy period immediotely precedinq the doy ol the' occident' the overoge

doily movementover th e crossing wa s 22.3 troins. Durlng the 24-hourperiod beginning 8 o'm./



3993-MC 3l0

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

Th e locomotiv6of No. 15 wos equippedwith speed-recording evices. These devices,however,ot th e time of the qccident were not providedwrlh topes on which the speed s recorded.

From on y point on Pockqrd Highwoy between he rqi lrood-crossingodvonce-worning ignqnd the crossinq, the driver of q northboundmotor vehicle hos o good view of ony v,restboundtroin opproochlngLhe crossing throughoute distonce of obout l% miles eqstword. (See photo-q rooLo l rhe t ron o l [n s _eoorL; .

D i scu s ion

As No. 15 closely qpproqched he crossing where the occident occurred, th e engineerqnd th e firemqn were in the control compqrtmentneqr the reor ol the flrst diesel-electric unlt.The conduciorond the front brokemonwere rn the Iourlh ccr, qnd the f lqgmqnwo s in the reor cqr.The brokes hod been tested qnd hod {unctionedproperly when used en route. The heqdliqhtwqs l lghted briqhtly cnd the loco,.notive el l wos r inginq, occording to the engineer. While theprescribed signol wos being soundedon the locomotive horn in opprooch

to the crossing, th efiremon observed the molortruck on Pqckad Hlqhwoy ond reolized it wos qbout to enter th ecrossing immedioteiy n front of th e troin. The engineerheord the f lremon cql l o wo-nlngondpromptly init iqted on emergencyopplicotion of the brokes. The troin then entered the crossingcnd stfuck the motortruck before i ts speed wq s moteriolly reduced.

Becouseof the long enqine hood in lront ol the control compqrtment, nd his posit ion onth e north, or r ight, side oI this compqrtmeni, he enqineerrsview of the hiqhwoy south of th ecrossing wo s considerobly restricied while the troin opprooched he crossing. He soid he didno t see the motortruckuntl l just before th e qccident occurred. The liremoi wos fotol ly injuredin the occident, qn d detoi is concernlnghis observqtions n opprooch o the crossinq could notbe oblo ned. The conductor, the front bro emon, qnd th e flogmqn were unqwqre of onything

wrong unti l the col lision occurred. The front brokemon ooked throuqh o window of the Iourthcq- os the trqin moved off the west end of the cnrve rn oppiooch to the crossing. At this timehe gllmpsed he motortruckmovrnq northwordon the hrghwoy n opprooch o the crossing. Sincethe occident occutred soon ofterword hc th.,rdht thp m^t^rt.,-1. did not Siop before enterino th ecro s ng.

A witness, who wos working qt q construction site locoteC qbout one-hqlf mile lrorn thecrossins, hecrd the sound of the col l ision. He soid thol before th e qccident occurredhe heordqt leost three lonq biosts of q locornotivehorn, the lost blost ending obout 3 secondsbeforeheheord he soundo{ the impoct.

Exominqtionqfter the occident disclosed the stuctures ol the westword moin trock ond

lhe siding were destroyed hroughoutdistonceof 525 feet west oI the crossing ond 503 feet westof the eost siding-switch, respectl \ ,ely. I t is oppqrent iom lhe dqmqqe o th e trocks ond th eDosit lons n which th e troin equipmentsiopped hot os o result of the impoct, trucks of the ioco-motiv- ' deroi ied to th e norih ot o point immediotelywest ol-the west side of the crossing. Thlsderoiled equipment hen struck the froq o'rd roi ls o{ the eqst turnout of the sidinq, cqusing th egenerol deroi lment o occur.



3993'MC83

l l

The driver ol the molortruck soid he stoppedhis vehicle ot o point within o distqnce of

50 feet from the neorest trock, then l istened ond looked in both directions before drlving onto

the crossing. He soid he neither sow nor heord ony indicotion of on opprooching rqin ot this

t ime. Accordinq to hi s stotements, th e driver lhen storted th e motortruck northword in l irst

geor, ond shii ted into second geor immedlotely belore the vehicle entered th e crossing' He

first becqmeqwffe ol the opprooching rqin immedioielyofter th e iroctormovedover ond cle'f,red

th e westwffd mqin trock, when he lfst observed he heodliqht of the trqin ond he' lrd the sound

of th e locomotlvehorn. He soid he promptly occeleroted he motortruck in on ottempt o move

th e semitrqi ler cleor ol the *e"t**.d moln trock, on d the col l ision occurred immediotelyofter-

wqrd.

The driver gove confl ict ing qccounts o{ how he spent th e night before thef,ccident '

ol legedly in the vicinlty ol Bott]e Creek' He lirst stoted thot he pcrked on th e streel qnd spent

th u nlqLt in o motel. When hLSstotementwo s disproved' he then soid he porked he truck in

o service stotlon, on.l lvos otlven by hi s wife to th e homeof her porenLs n Hostlnqs' Mich' Th e

wlfe qn d her relot ives dec.Linedo onsweJquestions without th e odvice ol counsel, but the ser-

vrce stotlon personneldelinitelY dlscloimed ony knowledgeol th e truck on the niqht ln question'

Theretore, in the obsenceor rel ioble inlormotion, it ls not known if the driverqctuol ly

spentony oppreciqble ime in th e vicinitY of Bott le Creek os cLoimed' Accordrnglv' th e qccurqcy oi

his dqi ly loqs is olso open to question'

Wilhout elying upon the lo g inlormotion' it is reosonoble o ossume hot th e driver could

hove mode he 330-mile trip trom Decotur to th e point of occident without exceedingour lmito'

t ion ol len hours drlvrng tlme. However, if th e driver wqs not off duty for su{f icient t lme' os

contempLeted y our regulot ions, he would not hove been eLigible to drive olter hoving been on

duty Ior fifteen hours. In th e obsence of reliqble informqtlon qs to his dutv stotus during th e

time in question, i t is not possibLe o determine l this driver wqs, in loct, el igibie to drive ot

the time of the qccldent.

After the occident, somecloihing wo s found honqingon the l iqht slde o{ the co b in po-

sition to obscurevision throuqh th e reqr hol i oi the side window, i{ th e driver exertedno bodily

effort to compensote or the obstruction' The re o cqb window wos cleor of obstructions' being

obove the level ol the iood ot steel ' Becouseoi th e ongle of opproochpresentedby the trqck

curvotufe, some portron of lhe trqin would hove been visible to lh e driver through the real win-

dow of the cob during most ol the driver's opprooch o the crossing' Thls informqtionwos de-

veloped throuqh tests subsequent o th e occideni Llsinq o similorlv orronged truck' Also of

importonce is the tqct thqt th e time ol th e occldenl reportedJycoincided with oifrciol sunrise

fo r th e me,r, Th e truck wo s qolng northwest. lVhether he su n wo s octuol ly in view or in o po-

sition to interfere with th e driver's vlsion connot be determined'

The truck wos driven onto the crassing ln front of the oncominq troln in violot ion ot

Stote qnd FederqL egulotrons, Wheiherhe octuoLlystoppedbefore drlvinq onto th e crossrng s

not known. It is evident thqt lhe truck driver's vlsion in lh e dir-'ction of the troin wo s port iol ly

obscured by the clothes honqing inside tl.recob' Other lqctors which mov hove inf luenced his

octions could not be developed with certointY' It is evident' however' th e driver did not erer-

cise the necessorycoution belore driving onto lh e ctossrnq'



rsslluruoD eclauluroc al?lsIelqlseod a8slsod

12

Cquse

3993-MC3

sf"O a^rd reryVurnlausseulsngFIclJJo

gz?oz 'c'c 'EolEqqse^\

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.

uu oTqorqc!,11u33JN

'qs?uosw,\ofr (

u6if,.?Es 'i ? 3.r,{

icc re gtw charlotte 1963

Documents