Miles SmithState safety oversight agencies (SSOA) are being tasked with ensuring transit agencies analyze collision risk between street-based light rail and tram operators and motor vehicles following a safety advisory issued in November by the Federal Transit Administration.
The FTA issued the advisory in an attempt to reduce fatalities and injuries, which occur more than 10 times as often as similar incidents at rail-grade crossings, according to an agency study.
An FTA review of National Transit Database data from 2015 to 2023 found there were 2,316 street running rail collisions, including 581 vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions that resulted in 85 fatalities.
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SSOAs have until Dec. 26 to disseminate collision data requests and must submit information back to the FTA by May 26, 2025.
The advisory specifically refers to light rail operations on tracks embedded in roadways where trains and trams share the street with pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles.
The FTA is seeking information about any collisions between a light rail, streetcar, hybrid rail or cable car vehicle at traditional rail grade crossings or within shared right-of-way street intersections.
Failure by an agency to submit data requests to the FTA can result in ineligibility to receive federal funding.
Photo courtesy Nick-D, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
