Whistle Regulation Will Tour The Country Before It Becomes Final - Brief Article

Railway Age, Oct, 1999 by Frank N. Wilner

To whistle or not to whistle. When in doubt, whistle. It saves lives and lots of them when it's a train that's whistling and a highway-rail grade crossing is nearing. But whistles disturb sleep, and homeowners living near grade crossings don't want so much whistling in their back yards. Often, to the horror of families whose loved ones just didn't hear the train coming, town councils have used local police powers to issue cease and desist orders. Illinois claims one in every four local nighttime whistle-ban laws. Illinois also has the nation's second highest grade crossing death toll. Studies in Florida and Oregon revealed the number of crossing accidents soar three-fold if trains don't sound whistles when approaching crossings.

Occasionally, such as in Florida in 1991, the Federal Railroad Administration responded to local whistle bans using emergency federal-preemptive power to break the silence. Most often the whistle bans remain and the carnage continues. Is there no compromise? Perhaps.

A proposed FRA rule has the bite of a pit bull but the personality of a Labrador retriever. Responding to a congressional directive, the FRA intends to require whistle-blowing at most grade crossings, but permit towns with the hearing sensitivity of librarians to shush railroads without putting its residents in harm's way. Credit both advanced technology and even innovative low-tech devices.

There's a long lead time on this rulemaking because Congress wants to provide towns sufficient time to weigh implementing permissible alternatives to mandatory whistle toots. FRA will show-and-tell at hundreds of communities in the 12 months between deciding on the final rule and its effective date. Consider the choices that must be made in the Cleveland bedroom-suburb of Lakewood where a dozen or so trains toot during the wee hours at 19 separate crossings in a one-mile stretch. "It wouldn't be so bad if it was just Whistler's mother complaining," says Representative Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio. "But I've also heard from Whistler's sister, uncle, second cousin, grandmother, and prom date."

The noiseless alternative to whistle blowing will include installing four-quadrant gates, median barriers, photo enforcement as is being tested in California and North Carolina, arresting nets such as used on aircraft carriers to stop fighter planes, in-vehicle audible and visual warning devices, and video imaging on bridges that will alert locomotive engineers and police that trespassers are present.

"We will continue to provide education, develop technology, and invest in safety programs to reach our goal of zero tolerance for railroad-related injuries and fatalities," says ERA Administrator Jolene Molitoris.