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Google, FRA team up for safety; will add rail crossing data to maps


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 29 June 2015 - 04:38 PM

USDOT "Fast Lane" blog, 6/29:

 

Google, FRA team up for safety; will add rail crossing data to maps
Posted by Sarah Feinberg
 

Can one of the nation’s newest, fastest-moving industries help to solve one of transportation’s oldest problems? At the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), we think the answer is yes. That is why today, we are proud to announce that Google has agreed to partner with us to make rail crossings safer for drivers and their passengers. 

 

Google has agreed to integrate FRA’s GIS data, which pinpoints the location of the nation's approximately 250,000 public and private railroad crossings, into its mapping services. Adding railroad crossing data to smartphone mapping applications just makes sense - it means supplying drivers and passengers with additional cues that they are approaching a crossing. For drivers and passengers who are driving an unfamiliar route, traveling at night, or who lose situational awareness at any given moment, receiving an additional alert about an upcoming crossing could save lives

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We know that more and more drivers today use map applications on smartphones to guide them to their destinations.

 

While mobile device maps and applications are trusted sources for directions and guidance, many of them do not notify drivers when they are approaching a rail crossing, or do not identify the rail crossing at all. When drivers are alerted or reminded that there is a rail crossing ahead, they may be more likely to remain alert, use greater caution, and obey the signal crossings.

 

From the very beginning of his tenure, Secretary Foxx has pushed all of us to do more to integrate technology to raise the bar on safety across all modes of transportation. This partnership, which will allow us to do just that, is an important development. Secretary Foxx and I are incredibly grateful that Google has quickly agreed to work with us, and we are hopeful that other tech companies that develop map applications will join us too.

 

Last year, approximately 270 people died in highway-rail collisions that were largely preventable.  This is the first time this decade in which that number has actually increased from the previous year. We can—and should—do everything possible to end vehicular-train incidents at rail crossings.  With Google and other tech companies’ help, I’m confident that we can achieve this goal even faster.

 

Not long after I arrived at FRA, I promised a fresh look at how to prevent grade crossing accidents.  The key so far has been in our partnerships – with local police, to increase enforcement actions; with Operation Lifesaver [external link], to help educate people about the risks; and now, with Google, to help with driver awareness through smarter engineering.

 

At FRA, we’ll continue to build more of these dynamic partnerships – because we must do everything we can to reduce grade crossing accidents that far too often have tragic consequences.

 



#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 29 June 2015 - 05:15 PM

Reuters, 6/29:
 

Google to alert drivers to railroad crossings using U.S. data

 

Google will add audio and visual alerts to warn drivers about upcoming railroad crossings on Google's navigation system, the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration announced on Monday.

 

The agency also asked four other companies - Apple, Garmin, Tom Tom and AOL's MapQuest - to join similar map partnerships using the agency's data to pinpoint the crossings, it said. AOL is owned by Verizon.

 

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#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 29 June 2015 - 05:25 PM

AP 6/29:

 

Railroad official asks digital map makers to mark crossings

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The federal agency that oversees railroads has asked digital mapping companies to alert drivers as they approach track crossings in the hope that visual and audio cues will lead to greater awareness of potential dangers.

 

So far, Google has agreed to update its maps with crossing locations, the Federal Railroad Administration announced Monday.

 

The effort comes as deaths from train-on-vehicle collisions increased in 2014 from 2013, according to the agency.

 

With approximately 270 deaths, 2014 was the first year-over-year increase this decade, the agency said.

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#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 29 June 2015 - 07:00 PM

The New York Times, posted 6/29:

 
Agency Taps Mapping Technology to Curb Rail Crossing Accidents

 

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A railroad crossing in Elmwood Park, N.J., that has been the site of 29 accidents since 1975. Credit Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
 

After a sharp increase in the number of rail crossing accidents last year, the Federal Railroad Administration plans to announce a new partnership with Google on Monday to provide the locations of all grade crossings in the company’s popular map application.

 

Google has agreed to include information from the United States Department of Transportation’s vast database to pinpoint every rail crossing in the country in Google Maps. Google will also add audio and visual alerts to the app for when drivers use the turn-by-turn navigation feature.

 

There are about 130,000 public and 85,000 private grade, or level, crossings across the country. The number of accidents at crossings had declined more than 80 percent, to about 2,000 a year in recent years from about 12,000 a year in the 1970s. But last year, the number rose by 9 percent.

 

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#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 29 June 2015 - 07:48 PM

AAR news release, 6/29:

 

Association of American Railroads Congratulates FRA and Google on Grade Crossing Safety Partnership


 

Washington, D.C., June 29, 2015 —The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today applauded the grade crossing safety partnership between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Google announced by FRA Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg.

 

"The grade crossing collision rate has fallen nearly every year since 1980 and about 35 percent since 2000, but too many collisions still occur and virtually all of them are preventable," said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. "The FRA's work with Google will provide a technological tool for motorists to build further safety awareness at crossings. The freight rail supports any and all efforts designed to focus people's attentions on the inherent dangers around grade crossings.

 

"As FRA statistics show, freight rail safety has been improving dramatically over the last several decades and together with Operation Lifesaver (OLI) and other key stakeholders, the push for improved safety and general awareness about the dangers at railroad tracks and grade crossings will continue on a 24/7 basis," said Hamberger.

 

Hamberger pointed to the See Tracks? Think Train campaign involving the AAR, OLI, FRA and the Federal Transit Administration, which is aimed at getting drivers and pedestrians to think twice before taking dangerous risks around railroad tracks.

 

"Freight railroads spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to maintain and improve grade crossings," said Hamberger, "and the AAR has long supported the federal Section 130 program, which provides funds to state governments for grade crossing safety enhancements such as installing new active warning devices, upgrading existing devices and improving grade crossing surfaces. 

 

"Section 130 funding has contributed to the prevention of tens of thousands of injuries and fatalities. Continued dedicated funding of this important program will mean more injuries averted and more lives saved," Hamberger added.

 

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