Florida DOT launches crossing safety initiative

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) yesterday announced a statewide initiative to improve safety at grade crossings.

FDOT Secretary Kevin Thibault issued the directive calling for “unprecedented” rail safety measures and the launch of a statewide education initiative with the goal of preventing additional fatalities on or near crossings, and on state roads and state-owned land crossings, FDOT officials said in a press release.

“One fatality on our rail crossings is one too many, and I am committed to doing everything I can as secretary to prevent additional tragedies from occurring across our state,” Thibault said.

The secretary's directive includes the following actions:
• Immediately begin implementing an engineering countermeasure called “dynamic
envelopes” at every existing FDOT roadway and state-owned land rail crossing across the state.
• Require the inclusion of a dynamic envelope in the standard design of any future crossings on FDOT roadways or state-owned land rail crossings;
• Launch a data-driven statewide rail safety education initiative;
• Partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to help enforce rail safety laws; and
• Continue to partner with local and private rail partners by sharing FDOT rail safety
design standards and framework and encouraging their participation and implementation of the safety and engineering efforts.

“This announcement truly showcases that FDOT is committed to keeping those who utilize the state’s transportation system safe and could serve as a national model,” said Florida Transportation Commission Chairman Ronald Howse.

In 2014 and 2017, FDOT conducted dynamic envelope pilot programs in south and central Florida, respectively. Traffic data indicated that the number of vehicles that stopped on or too close to crossings was reduced by at least 15 percent.

Meanwhile, the department plans to implement dynamic envelopes on more than 4,000 crossings at a cost of $60 million. State officials anticipate the effort will be completed by March 2022.

Thibault's announcement follows recent news reports of a high number of fatalities at grade crossings in Florida, including an accident during Thanksgiving weekend in which a grandmother and her two grandsons were killed when an Amtrak train hit their vehicle as it entered a grade crossing in Jupiter.

Currently, the crossing is marked only with railroad crossbucks and yield signs, according to local news reports.