I think there should be a law that all grade crossings including those on private roads and driveways have crossing gates no matter what.
And every road intersection with stop signs should have them replaced with traffic lights or grade seperations? There is a limit to how far it is reasonable to go to protect people from themselves.
Not to mention that gates mean nothing in terms of reducing accidents.
For the first 9 months of last year there were 1,614 accidents at RR crossings. Of that number, only 209 took place at a private crossing. And out of 1,614 accidents, 677 of them took place at a crossing with lighta & gates. More than 1/3 of the accidents occurred at a crossing with gates. Another 246 took place at a crossing with flashing lights. So more than 1/2 the accidents took place at a crossing with active protection.
My point of course being that crossing gates guarantee nothing! It has been the law of this land for more than a century that people & cars stop for trains. If there is no active protection, then you must stop, look, & listen before crossing the tracks. That's all one needs to do to stay alive!
The problem isn't a lack of gates, it's a lack of respect for the laws in this country. People have their stereo's blaring, windows rolled up, and they just assume that nothing will be coming. They need to slow down, roll down the window, and turn off the radio for a minute, prior to crossing the tracks. It's real simple!