The National Transportation Safety Board says poor route planning and permitting, lack of training about the hazards of railroad crossings, and driver fatigue all contributed to the collision of a passenger train and an oversized tractor-trailer last year in California.

The January 2000 accident in Glendale, Calif., caused six minor injuries and $2 million in damages. The NTSB said the probable cause was inadequate preparation and route planning, poor coordination of vehicle movement and permitting authorities, and the lack of recognition of the potential hazard at the grade crossing.
Fatigue of both the pilot car driver and the truck driver also contributed to the crash, said the agency. In addition, the safety board concluded that if the truck driver had received training emphasizing the hazards of railroad grade crossings for oversized/overweight vehicles, he might have recognized the potential hazard and notified the railroad that he was about to traverse the tracks. He also might have raised the height of the trailer before crossing the tracks.
As a result of the accident, the Safety Board made recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration, the City of Glendale, Calif., the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association, and three pilot car associations.
Included were recommendations urging government regulatory agencies and private industry to:

• Develop a model pilot car driver training program. The training program should address issues such as how to conduct route surveys; the maneuvering limitations of heavy-haul vehicles; the effects of fatigue on performance; the need to assess the dangers of rail crossings, particularly for low-clearance vehicles; and the need to notify the railroads before an oversized/overweight vehicle is escorted across a highway/railroad grade crossing.

• Work with the Federal Highway Administration to develop model oversized/overweight vehicle movement guidelines. The guidelines should address when pilot cars and police escorts are required; the training, testing, and certification of pilot car operators, police officers, and truck drivers in the movement of oversized/overweight loads; and the use of height poles and traffic controls.

• Encourage states to adopt the model oversized/overweight vehicle movement guidelines, once developed, and to require that oversized/overweight vehicle movement conform to the guidelines.

• Install low-clearance highway-railroad crossing signs at the Grandview Avenue crossing and evaluate other crossings to determine whether the signs are warranted and, if so, install them.