owners, and potentially their insurance companies, to liability risk. Should a severe collision occur at a private crossing, where the court establishes that non-compliance with a safety measure is a contributing factor, a property owner could be held partially or fully liable. Despite the major implications of the new regulations, Transport Canada does not have a mechanism in place to directly inform private crossing owners of the new requirements to which they will soon need to comply. That being the case, insurance companies and brokers are uniquely positioned to inform private crossing owners of the new demands, as well as to provide options and advice regarding how owners can best meet the regulatory requirements now and in the future.
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Canada’s bid to ensure uniform safety treatments and conditions are provided at at-grade railway crossings across the country by 2021.
CONSISTENT DEMANDS The new standards provide specific requirements for sightlines, warning systems, traffic control devices (for example, signs and pavement markings) and road/rail approaches. Many of these requirements will have a direct impact on private crossing landowners, some of whom will need to make changes. For example, the regulations specify that if a landowner has trees or other foliage on his or her land in the vicinity of an at-grade crossing, it must be removed if it obstructs regulatory sightline requirements. The regulations also indicate that the horizontal and vertical alignment of the road approach and the crossing surface must be “smooth” and “continuous.” Poor road surface conditions at railway crossings because of a lack of periodic maintenance, which is often seen at private crossings, will require resurfacing and/ or a complete reconstruction to comply with the regulations. In some other cases, although private owners have been maintaining their crossings up to the prevailing standards, situations may arise outside of the own-
er’s control. This may require owners to make changes to the current warning system, resulting in major unexpected costs. For example, should a railway company increase the operating speed of a certain rail corridor, the private owner may be required to spend thousands of dollars to update the warning system from standard railway crossing signs to an active warning system (flashing lights and gates). Failure to comply with the new safety standards will expose private crossing
SAFE APPROACH Over the years, the process for requiring private owners and/or railway companies to periodically inspect or review the vast majority of private railway crossings has been, at best, lacking, and, at worst, non-existent. With the new regulations, private crossing owners will be responsible for reviewing the components of their crossings and ensuring they comply with the regulations and standards. The review should involve a field investigation to
Supplied by -30- Forensic Engineering September 2017 Canadian Underwriter 35