Safety on railroads.

WORKING DRAFT
2010
STATE OF
WYOMING
10LSO-0171

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0073

Safety on railroads.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Esquibel, K., Bagby, Craft, McKim and Wallis and Senator(s) Elliott

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
railroads; establishing certain requirements for the operation of railroads; providing a definition; providing
for a criminal offense and for
a penalty;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.
W.S. 37
‑
9
‑
1401
and 37
‑
9
‑
1402 are
created to read:

ARTICLE 14
SAFETY ON RAILROADS

37
‑
9
‑
1401.

Safety on railroads.

(a)

A railroad co
mpany
within this state is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is subject to the penalties provided in subsection (
d
)
of this section if the
company
:

(i)

Fails
to provide comfortable and convenient cars or coaches for the transportation of its passengers and their baggage or safe cars for the transportation
of express matter and freight;

(ii)

Operates
a
railroad
train over an unsafe br
idge, trestlework or aqueduct;

(iii)

Operates
a
railroad train
which is not equipped
with a prop
erly functioning horn and bell;

(iv)

P
ermits a
railroad train
to approach a public highway, public road or public railro
ad crossing without causing

the
horn and bell
of the railroad train
to be sounded at the distance from the crossing
as
provided in
subsection (b) of this section; or

(v)

W
illfully fails to m
ake any report required by law.

(b)

For the purposes of
paragraph
(
a
)(
iv)
of this section
:

(i)

T
he horn and bell
of a railroad train
shall
be sounded from
a
point
not less than one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet from the crossing
until the crossing is occupied, but if a train has stopped within
one thousand three hundred twenty (
1,320
)
feet of a crossing, the horn and bell
shall
be sounded for a minimum of
fifteen

(
15
)
seconds prior to th
e train occupying the crossing;

(ii)

The railroad company
shall erect and maintain a sign at a minimum of
one thousand three hundred twenty

(
1,320
)
feet in advance of a crossing at which the horn and bell are required to be sounded to notify the
railroad
crew in advance of a crossing that requires the
railroad train
horn and bell to be sounded;

(iii)

I
f the owner of
private land which includes a railroad
crossing makes a written request to the railroad
company
to have the horn and bell
of the railroad train sounded at the
private crossing, the railroad shall comply with the reques
t and failure to sound the horn and bell after such a request shall be considered a violation of
paragraph
(a)(iv) of this section. An owner
is not subject to any liability as a resu
lt of not making a request
pursuant to this paragraph
;

(iv)

If the owner of private land which includes a railroad crossing makes a written request to the railroad company to not have the horn and bell of a railroad train sounded at the private crossing, the railroad shall comply with the request and shall remove any sign erected pursuant to paragraph (ii) of this subsection.

(c
)

As used in this section,
"public highway, public road or public railroad crossing" means that the easement, right-of-way, or fee title for the public highway, public road or public railroad crossing is held in the name of a federal, state, tribal or local government entity on both sides of the crossing
.

(d)

Upon conviction of the of
fenses provided in subsection (a
)
of this section
, a railr
oad company is subject to a fine of:

(i)

Not more than one thousand dollars (
$1,000
.00)
for the first offense;

(ii)

Not more than two thousand dollars (
$2,000
.00)
for the second viola
tion of the same provision; and

(iii)

N
ot less than
five thousand dollars (
$5,000
.00)
or more than
ten thousand dollars (
$10,000
.00)
for
the third or subsequent violation
of
the same provision
.

37
‑
9
‑
1402.

Establishment of railroad quiet zones.

(a)

As used in this section, "quiet zone" means a segment of a railroad which
contains
one (1) or a number of consecutive railroad crossings at which locomotive horns and bells are not routinely sounded.

(b)

The governing body of a municipality or a board of county commissioners may petition to the secretary of the United States department of transportation to establish quiet zones at railroad crossings that meet the requirements established in the rules adopted to implement 49 U.S.C. 20153(c). In developing the petition, the governing body of the municipality or the board of county commissioners shall consult with the railroad corporations that operate the rail lines through crossings that are within the proposed quiet zone. The petition must include how the municipality or county intends to implement the supplemental safety measures that are required by the
United States
department of transportation at railroad crossings within quiet zones.

(c)

A quiet zone shall not be established at a railroad crossing unless the governing body of a municipality or a board of county commissioners follows the procedure provided in subsection (b) of this section and receives the approval of the secretary of the
United States
department of transportation or the secretary's designee.

Section 2.
W.S. 31
‑
5
‑
510(a)(iii) is amended to read:

31
‑
5
‑
510.

Railroad crossings generally.

(a)

Whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a railroad grade crossing under any of the circumstances stated in this section, the driver of the vehicle shall stop within fifty (50) feet but not less than fifteen (15) feet from the nearest rail of the railroad, and shall not proceed until he can do so safely. The foregoing requirements apply when:

(iii)

A railroad train approaching within approximately one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the highway crossing emits a signal audible from such distance
, except at crossings within quiet zones established under W.S. 37
‑
9
‑
1402,
and the railroad train, by reason of its speed or nearness to the crossing, is an immediate hazard;

Section
3
.
This act is effective July 1, 2010.

(END)

1
HB0073