Contrary to what reader George Swimmer thinks (Voice, Aug. 15), railroad grade-crossing safety was not improved by the unfortunate bill passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jim Edgar.
This bill, which limits the speed of Metra trains to 50 miles an hour through the village of Fox River Grove, down from the normal 70 m.p.h., was an emotional result of the tragic school bus accident that occurred in the village two years ago. This accident was the combined result of an inexperienced school bus driver and incompetent highway engineering. The speed of the train was not the cause of the accident, a fact substantiated by investigations of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration.
If the legislature really wants to prevent such tragedies, it should better regulate the training and qualifying of school bus drivers and should outlaw installation of stereo systems on school buses. It should also make local school districts tighten up bus discipline rules for students. Highway designers need to consider the implications of road-rail intersections and vehicle safety.
If applied throughout the Metra system, this law would greatly slow the express schedules and make taking the train less attractive to the public. This in turn will lead to more congestion on area highways with the potential of producing more death and maiming far beyond that experienced in the Fox River Grove incident.
The key to grade-crossing safety is the continued education of the public, not in punishing the Metra commuters with slower schedules. This law should be repealed by the legislature in the fall session or negated by the federal government, whose Federal Railroad Administration alone should regulate train speeds based on their nationwide track, signal and crossing safety rules.
