Dyna tells us how the green light only gives us permission to enter an intersection, not to pass the next "control point".
Dean seems to have been looking at eastbound traffic, which I think would mean that the traffic would have to cross the tracks before entering the intersection. I think that the green light would have caused drivers to start moving across the tracks before the arms came down. If the arms come down as quickly as I think they do, it would be easy for them to hit a car that started to move into the intersection on the green because there was no train traffic.
Of course, the people 2-3 cars back who also began moving with the green may well hit anyone stopping abruptly when they see the arms move.
Except for one important bit of information, I think Bruce's description is correct. The key point is, the red flashing warning lights and the audible chimes at the crossing begin flashing and ringing well in advance of the arms starting to lower -- at least that's how it sounds from descriptions here and how other "heavy" rail crossings operate. (I can't say that I remember if that's how the LRT operates.) Once the red crossing lights illuminate, the law is that all cross traffic is required to stop.
The problem is, people don't. As long as the arm is not blocking their progress, they believe they can continue -- sometimes even through a lowered arm, it seems. The drivers are the problem. "Fixing" thousands of bad drivers might be difficult, however.
How about "red light camaeras" at the LRT crossings?
Chris Johnson - Fulton
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