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As we have sought to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, ethanol has become the main fuel additive to make our oil reserves stretch further.  The millions of miles of railroad tracks have become the most common method for moving this ethanol around the country. Living in Missouri and Illionis, we know we have many miles of …

Two recent tragedies call into question safety precautions made by railroad facilities.  A 15 year-old Wentzville teen was killed Sunday as he walked on the train tracks by Main Street.  According to sources, the teen had on ear buds and apparently did not hear the train horn. In a very similar tragedy, a 14 year-old teen …

Tragic news filtered through the newspapers and internet today about two young girls that were killed in Butler County early this morning.  All the more tragic were the circumstances.  According to reports the teenagers were playing “Ghost Train” at a railroad crossing near Poplar Bluff in southeast Missouri.  While Ihave blogged about “Hilltoppin” in Missouri, ”Ghost …

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), deaths from crashes with large trucks increased 8.7% in 2010 compared to 2009.  In 2010, 3,675 motorists died in truck accidents compared to 3,380 in 2009.  However, motor vehicle crashes overall decreased in the U.S. for the same time period.  In 2010, there were 32,885 deaths …

The Chicago Tribune recently ran an op-ed regarding “nuisance lawsuits,” the lawsuits that insurance companies and corporations simply settle instead of fighting.  They choose to settle the “frivolous” claims because the cost of litigation is so expensive.  The author contends, however, that settling these lawsuits actually winds up costing corporations more because it invites lawyers …

Several people were critically injured in train collisions when two cars slammed into a parked train in Chicago, Illinois. According to the Chicago Sun Times, a man and a friend were traveling in their 2003 Nissan Maxima on South Halsted and the next minute they slammed into a “pitch black” freight train that was stopped …

Two separate trains were involved in two separate train accidents in Phelps and Crawford Counties according to the St. James Leader-Journal. On Monday morning a 17-year old girl of Leasburg, Missouri tried to cross northbound railroad crossing and failed to yield to the train traveling eastbound. The young girl suffered minor injuries, was transported to …

A train collided with a car in St. Louis Saturday night, closing the tracks west of Downtown St. Louis. Five people were injured in the train crash. Two people in the car were injured and three people on the train were injured. According to officials and The Belleville News Democrat, the driver of the vehicle …

A 20-year old mother of a 1-year old son was killed in a car-train crash near Calumet Park, Illinois according to The Sun Times. The woman was a passenger in a car driven by her father, when a passenger train collided with them when the car allegedly drove around a lowered crossing gate at 97th …

Deaths involving train and pedestrian collisions increased in Illinois last year. These statistics were according to the Illinois Commerce Commission and compared fatality reports between 2007 and 2010. There were 17 reported fatalities between January and November of 2011 and 10 of the deaths were pedestrians hit by trains. According to Joseph Szabo, administrator of …