By John Cooper, Norfolk Rail Accident Attorney

I live in Norfolk and practice railroad accident law in Virginia Beach, so I’ve closely followed the development, construction and launch of light rail since the mid-1990s. Now that The Tide has been running for a little over two months, the picture of how safe the trains are likely to be is coming clear.

The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is “pretty safe with more than a few close calls.” In addition to two collisions caused by car drivers in which no one was seriously injured, the light rail trains run by Hampton Roads Transit has also seen several near-misses with drunk pedestrians. As reported in the November 4, 2011, Virginian-Pilot, there have been at least three incidents in which inebriated people have had to be removed from tracks or rail beds so they would not be hit and probably killed. In one those, a train actually passed over a man who had passed out right next to a rail.

This safety PSA from HRT highlights how dangerous crossing light rail tracks can be for perfectly sober, but distracted, pedestrians:

Practically every day, a pedestrian somewhere in America dies after being hit by a freight, passenger, commuter or light rail train. While a portion of these fatal accidents are undoubtedly suicides by people who intentionally walk onto or lay across tracks, an equal or greater number involve drunk, distracted or careless pedestrians. In fact, the number of fatalities among people, especially teens, who did not hear trains approaching because they were wearing earphones for mp3 players is skyrocketing.

The solution for preventing pedestrian deaths on train tracks is to make getting onto the rails difficult. Often, controlling track access is as simple as constructing a fence, as HRT has done along several stretches of the Tide line. But since fences are impractical in Norfolk’s Downtown, where all crossings are at the same level as roads and crosswalks, education and training for both people on foot and light rail operators is essential.

EJL

About the Editors: Personal injury attorneys with the Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton law firm do only injury and accident law. We have experience handling car, truck, motorcycle, van and SUV accident cases, and our case results speak for themselves. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but we often represent clients in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and Suffolk. If we agree to take your case, we will come to you at home or even in the hospital, to make it easier for you. We are ready to talk to you by phone at (757) 460-7776. We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Norfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton Injuryboard, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk Injuryboard, VA-NC Wrongful Death Lawyers, VA & NC Medical Surgery Malpractice Attorneys Blog and Virginia Trucking Accident/Injury Blog to provide important health, safety and legal information to the public.