Ten people have died in North Carolina wrecks involving trains in the past two years. With about 10,000 railroad crossings in North Carolina people need to be more aware of the dangers of driving into the path of a train.

The number of private and public railroad crossings is about equal at 5000 each. In Apex there are crossings along South Salem Street (private), across Tingen Rd., East Moore Street, East Chatham St., Center Street, Hunter Street and Salem Church Rd. before going into Cary.

All of the public railroad crossings in Apex have railroad gates or arms and warning lights to let drivers know when a train is coming. At each crossing there is a set of white stop bars on the road. A sign at the stop bars warns drivers not to stop on the rail road tracks.

In addition to crossing gates, stop bars and signs, the trains themselves are required to blow their horn when approaching crossings. For some drivers who are impatient, the sound of a train horn is a signal to try to get across the tracks rather than wait for the train to pass. Other drivers simply pay no heed to the stop bars and warning signs and stop directly on the railroad tracks in heavy rush hour traffic.

Many Apex residents have been delayed by trains stopping on the tracks on Hunter Street, Center Street, East Chatham Street and Moore Street. Many more have been delayed by apparently faulty crossing gates that seem to close for no reason. Wherever these drivers are going, they put their lives as well as those of many other citizens at risk any time they ignore crossing gates, stop bars, signs, warning lights and train horns. It is not uncommon to see drivers going around crossing gates because of impatience or a false belief that a train is not moving very fast.

According to a published quote from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, many people are fooled by the size of a train verses its speed: “It's an optical illusion: a train is large and it's on a fixed rail, it's extremely difficult to judge the speed of a train.”

Another example is the one I marvel at. When I look at a very large four engine airliner, it sometimes looks as if it is hanging in mid air and not moving at all, yet I know it is going hundreds of miles per hour. A very large locomotive coming at you down a straight track has that same effect.

Fortunately there have not been any wrecks involving trains in Apex in recent times, but if drivers continue to be impatient and non-vigilant, it will just be a matter of time.

Even if you do not get hit by a train, you could still be hit by a motor vehicle violation.

Crossing tracks that are blocked by railroad crossing gates and stopping on railroad tracks are violations of North Carolina General Statues 20-142.1 and 20-142.2, 20-142.3 and 20-142.5. Your choice to ignore the signs and signals could be costly one way or another.