Rail crossing: Pedestrian common sense needed

Re: “Councilman angered by slow safety progress at rail crossing,” (TNT, 5/7).

Having read Matt Driscoll’s second commentary on the topic of rail crossings, I am irritated that people always blame the railroad. When will people take responsibility for their own actions? They have barriers, bells and flashing lights to warn you a train is coming or already there.

Common sense would dictate you wait until the train has passed and if there are two sets of tracks there might be two trains. If the barrier is down for autos, one would think it applies to pedestrians also.

Would you step out on a street without first looking both ways to see if a car is coming?

A needless death is a terrible thing, but could have been prevented if someone had just taken the time to see if the tracks were clear.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Rail crossing: Pedestrian common sense needed."