According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in 2010 just 10 states accounted for nearly 60% of all highway-rail fatalities at both public and private crossings. While it may be expected that larger states or states with the most miles of railway would also have the most accidents, that is not always the case. In fact, of the 10 states with the most deadly railroad crossings, only 4 of them (California, Illinois, Texas and Florida) rank in the top 10 in terms of population.
Some states, it seems, are significantly more dangerous than others in terms of railroad crossing accidents when measured against population. Here are the top 10 states in terms of railroad crossing accidents in 2010 and where they measure up in terms of population:
- California – 28 fatalities / 29.8 million population (1)
- Illinois – 27 fatalities / 12.8 million population (5)*
- Texas – 25 fatalities / 25.1 million population (2)
- Louisiana – 13 fatalities / 4.5 million population (25)*
- Florida – 12 fatalities / 18.8 million population (4)
- Missouri – 11 fatalities / 6.0 million population (18)*
- Kentucky – 10 fatalities / 4.3 million population (26)*
- Indiana – 9 fatalities / 6.5 million population (15)*
- Arkansas – 9 fatalities / 2.9 million population (31)*
- Alabama – 8 fatalities / 4.8 million population (23)*
23. New York – 2 fatalities / 19.4 million population (2)**
*Statistically more dangerous railroad crossings in terms of accidents per population.
** Interestingly, New York which ranks second in population in the U.S. reported only 2 railroad crossing fatalities in 2010 compared to California which has the largest population and highest reported fatalities with 28.
ILLINOIS RAILROAD CROSSING ACCIDENT STATISTICS
Illinois was the second most deadly state in highway-rail grade crossing fatalities with a total of 27 in 2010. In that same year, Illinois reported 125 highway-rail “incidents” making it the third most dangerous state. With 125 incidents and 27 fatalities and a population of 12.8 million, in 2010 Illinois reported 9.8 incidents and an outsized 2.1 deaths per million population – more than twice the number in California, Texas and Florida the other largest states.
In the last 10 years of recorded statistics, Illinois had more than 1800 railroad crossing incidents which resulted in more than 300 deaths. Expectedly close to 40% of Illinois’ railroad crossing collisions happened in the heavily populated northeastern Illinois area surrounding Chicago (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will and Cook County).
MISSOURI RAILROAD CROSSING ACCIDENT STATISTICS
Missouri was the sixth most deadly state in highway-rail grade crossing fatalities with a total of 11 in 2010. In that same year, Missouri reported 52 highway-rail “incidents” making it the 14th most dangerous state. With 52 incidents and 11 fatalities and a population of just 6.0 million, in 2010 Missouri reported 8.6 incidents and an outsized 1.8 deaths per million population. To put that danger into some perspective, Missouri which had nearly the same fatality count as Florida (11 instead of 12) has a fatal accident rate that is almost three times higher than the much larger state.
Missouri was also in the top 10 most deadly railroad crossing list in 2008. Reports show Missouri had a deadly spike in railroad crossing fatalities in 2005, as well. Missouri railroad crossing deaths fell in 2006, but then increased in 2007 and again in 2008 before falling in 2009 and then re-spiking in 2010. This constant cycle of high fatalities shows there is still much work to be done in making railroad crossings safe in Missouri.
