The Maelstrom Society was established in Ohio, in July 2006 to help educate the public about the dangers of unsafe railroad grade crossings.
Our primary goal is to raise awareness of the necessity to share responsibility for safe railroad grade crossings among all interested parties - the public, the state and the railroads.
There are multiple factors that cause even the most
conscientious driver to fail to anticipate the danger
of an oncoming train. Sight lines that are obscured
by trees, overgrown vegetation, buildings and other
obstructions contribute to making a crossing more
hazardous.
Motorists cannot avoid what they can not see.
Everyone knows that a car will never win a
“shoving contest” against a train. Why not give
the motorist and their passengers a better chance
to survive? If each state not only identified
dangerous crossings, but also acted to eliminate
their hazardous conditions, innocent motorists
might be alive today.
Railroads are only required to erect a simple white sign with the words "Railroad Crossing." This "cross buck" is often the only warning that motorists have that a train may be approaching. For the millions who cross a railroad each day - family vans with children, trucks, the local school bus, and each of us as we go to work or the grocery, this simple warning is not enough to prevent tragedy. Nearly every day a life is lost at a rail crossing.
