So why arent the crossing gates long enough to barricade the entire crossing on one side?

Question

Ok we hear about so much about driving going around the gates to beat the train. Also about the railroad now putting gates on both sides. Why don't they just make them longer to block the entire road on that particular side of the crossing? Then they would not have to go through the trouble of installing another base with a gate on it.

Answer 1

If a crossing gate were to start down and you were already on or very near the crossing, the opposite gate would drop IN FRONT of you and you would be trapped on the crossing.

Also, many people think this is actually a Darwinian approach, people who purposely go around gates should not be allowed to propogate the gene pool .

Answer 2

They are protection. But designed in such a way that an emergency vehicle could pass in an emergency.

Answer 3

To add a few more thoughts to the above answers, the very best way to prevent grade crossing accidents is not an expensive new type of crossing gate to keep folks from trying to beat a train (one will always find a way, anyway) but to essentially do away with the crossing altogether and separate railroad right-of-way from roadway.  Although this is not always possible or feasible railroads and cities/states have been doing such where and when it is practical (for instance, the Alameda Corridor in Los Angeles).

Answer 4

Because you don't want to drop a gate in front of someone who's on the tracks and wants to get off the tracks.  

That's why normal gates only block their half of the road.  Quadrant gates have separate gates so they can drop the "letting people off the crossing" gates several seconds after the "keeping people from goin onto the crossing" gates.  That gives people time to get out.

Of course, people should never, ever stop on the tracks in the first place. No matter what, ever.   Don't start across unless you know you can get all the way across and then some.

A much better answer is to boulevard the roadway, so each direction of traffic is separated by a median barrier and people can't just zigzag around the gates.  That also means the protection is paid for by the highway department instead of the railroad, as it should be.  The railroad shouldn't be financially responsible for protecting careless people from themselves.

Answer 5

Many reasons: the gate would be to heavy, it would be slow to raise, it would require a lot of bracing so it wouldn't buckle under it's own weight, it would require much stronger motors to raise and lower them, it would go too high into the air causing a problem with any phone or power lines, but most importantly it would cost MUCH more money to install.

Answer 6

From what I have been told by signal maintainers and it makes sense, is the reason they don't make them longer if they don't have to is the fact that in many cases during high winds or gusts they have been known to break.

Also during such conditions while a train is passing over the crossing and the gates are lowered, a strong wind or gusts have actually pushed the gate into the side of the train, demolished the gate and sending parts flying through the air.

When this happens with a extra long gate the signal maintainer usually with no assistance has to go out and try to replace the gate. In some cases it's nearly impossible without help. I know, myself and another employee had to go out and help a maintainer replace one of those extra long gates once.

I'll tell you it was not an easy task with even three of us there. Of course the 15 mph breeze didn't help either, plus doing this in between highway traffic on a 4 lane highway.

The crossing I was referring to has since had additional flashers and gates (shorter ones I might add) located so the need for a extra long gate is not required any longer. Plain and simple the railroad was fed up with replacing them on a routine basis.

Answer 7

I say don't have gates at all.   There should be a red light, like any other intersection.

Answer 8

If a driver somehow gets trapped between the gates when they come down, he can drive around them to get out. The gates are also designed to break away when hit by a car. Never the less, for all the people who bust up the gates, there are those that, when trapped in between with a train coming, would never think to just drive through the gate. It has happened. That's why they are made short. The gates have more of a symbolic function than one of a true barrier.