Cause of Death: Hit by a Train (USA only)

Train Accident Statistics

According to the National Transportation Safety Bureau, Nearly every 2 hours, a person or vehicle is hit by a train in the U.S. Rail accidents and/or incidents include the following scenarios:

Derailment Train-train collisions Train-car collisions Train-person collisions Damage to property

Each year nearly 1,000 people are killed in train related accidents. Additionally, United States train and railroad accident statistics estimate that almost every two weeks a train derailment leads to a chemical spill. Some of these spills are so serious that they require the evacuation of local residents. The occurrence and frequency of train accidents has been escalating since 1997.

Aside from being extremely tragic and devastating, train and railroad accidents can be very complex and difficult for the victims. Your best option following a train wreck or railroad accident is to seek legal counsel from an experienced attorney to help you recover well-deserved damages in the midst of all the pain and suffering endured.

If you’ve been injured in a train accident, McAleer Law can assist you in recovering monetary compensation, which includes lost wages, past and future medical bills, and pain and suffering. Sometimes even punitive damages can be recovered.

Train-Car Collisions

Many people make the mistake of believing that an oncoming train will be able to stop in time if their car were to stall on the tracks. However, a 150-car freight train traveling 50 miles per hour will take over a mile to stop!

According to the US Department of Transportation, there are about 5,800 train-car crashes each year in the United States, most of which occur at railroad crossings. These accidents cause 600 deaths and injure about 2,300. More than half of all fatal train accidents occur at train crossings that do not have active safety devises or have safety devices that are simply inadequate or, in come cases, have no safety devices to alert unsuspecting motorists. During the day, about 75% of car and train collisions involve the train hitting the car. At night, about 50% of the time, the car runs into the train at an inadequately marked crossing. The lesson here is to drive safe and expect the unexpected at train crossings.

Train Accident Facts and Figures

About every hour and a half a train collides with another object or is derailed. Every two weeks a train that is carrying hazardous materials derails in the United States. Today rail companies rely on technology that was developed more than 70 years ago, and very little research and improvement has been made to update these dated safety measures. Local governments often have no voice over the train traffic in their area, which can result in delays for local emergency responders. According to the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration, about 80% of railroad crossings do not have adequate warning devices. While vehicle on train collisions have decreased in the past few years, pedestrians involved in train collisions have increased.

Per: https://www.mcaleerlaw.com/train-accident-statistics.html

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2014 there were 11,896 train accidents at railroad crossings, resulting in 804 fatalities and thousands of injuries over the course of that year.

• Trains are estimated to kill 1 person every 100 minutes. Each year nearly 1,000 people are killed in train related accidents.
• More than half of all railroad accidents occur at unprotected crossings.
• More than 80 percent of crossings lack adequate warning devices such as lights and gates.
• Occupants of vehicles that collide with a train are 40 times more likely to die than if they had collided with another vehicle of comparable size.
• Every two weeks a train carrying hazardous materials derails in the United States.

Per: https://www.sidgilreath.com/learn/railroad-accidents-causes.html