03-16-2017, 10:43 AM
On March 7, 2017, a Van Hool transit bus was hit by a train in Bilouxi, MS with devastating results, 3 dead and 35 injured. Most of the passengers were from communities near Austin, Texas.
Why would I mention this on a Newell related forum. Simple, what happened to that bus could have just as easily happened to any driver of a Newell, a Prevost or any RV with a long wheelbase and a low ride height. The bus came up to an elevated grade train crossing. He was following the GPS (rather than the instructions provided by the dispatcher but that is an issue not related to us unless you aren't following your wife's instructions). In attempting to cross the tracks, the driver hung up the center of the bus and could not get the bus to move off the tracks. Unfortunately, within about 5 minutes a train using that track was unable to stop (they rarely can since their stopping distance is measured in tenths of a mile rather than feet) and hit the bus broadside.
What can we learn from this? Several things:
First, we must be aware and cautious of grade changes in the road. it is very easy to drag the underside of your coach on uneven road sections such as drive approaches, drainage swells, and grade transitions. Most of the time these are not sufficient to stop the coach but they hold the potential for serious issues if you are not vigilant and mindful of the potential to get hung high center or have the drive wheels drop into a lower surface leaving the rear end of the coach hung up with the drive tires barely touching the ground.
Secondly, once the center (or rear) of the coach starts dragging, we have the advantage of being able to raise the air suspension manually to gain a little extra clearance. This is important to remember. Trying to brute force your way off a high section of road without raising the coach may work or it may take enough weight off the drive axle that you don't have the traction to get moving again. Another alternative assuming you are going slowly when you first hear scraping is to back up and see if there is a different angle you can take to reduce the high portion of the road/driveway or a different route you can take to avoid it totally.
Thirdly, this is another reminder that although GPS is one of the greatest innovations to aid the traveler, blindly depending on GPS can get you into a world of trouble. Ever follow a GPS route that leads you on worse and worse roads until after miles and miles you find yourself staring at a locked gate? I have, in a long wheelbase one-ton van towing a 34' Airstream trailer. Ever taken a short-cut route that GPS shows will get you to the highway only to find that the road they show turns into a dirt 4 wheel drive path before it gets to the main road? I have, fortunately that was in a car rather than an RV.
Fourth, railroad crossings are not to be taken lightly. 2665 people were killed in 2015 at highway-rail grade crossings. 76% of those occurred in 15 states https://oli.org/about-us/news/statistics...s-by-state . California, Texas and Illinois lead the pack with 52, 22 and 22 deaths respectively. Mississippi was number 10.
In the case of the bus in Mississippi, there was a warning sign "Low Ground Clearance" which I have never seen before. Be careful out there!!!
Why would I mention this on a Newell related forum. Simple, what happened to that bus could have just as easily happened to any driver of a Newell, a Prevost or any RV with a long wheelbase and a low ride height. The bus came up to an elevated grade train crossing. He was following the GPS (rather than the instructions provided by the dispatcher but that is an issue not related to us unless you aren't following your wife's instructions). In attempting to cross the tracks, the driver hung up the center of the bus and could not get the bus to move off the tracks. Unfortunately, within about 5 minutes a train using that track was unable to stop (they rarely can since their stopping distance is measured in tenths of a mile rather than feet) and hit the bus broadside.
What can we learn from this? Several things:
First, we must be aware and cautious of grade changes in the road. it is very easy to drag the underside of your coach on uneven road sections such as drive approaches, drainage swells, and grade transitions. Most of the time these are not sufficient to stop the coach but they hold the potential for serious issues if you are not vigilant and mindful of the potential to get hung high center or have the drive wheels drop into a lower surface leaving the rear end of the coach hung up with the drive tires barely touching the ground.
Secondly, once the center (or rear) of the coach starts dragging, we have the advantage of being able to raise the air suspension manually to gain a little extra clearance. This is important to remember. Trying to brute force your way off a high section of road without raising the coach may work or it may take enough weight off the drive axle that you don't have the traction to get moving again. Another alternative assuming you are going slowly when you first hear scraping is to back up and see if there is a different angle you can take to reduce the high portion of the road/driveway or a different route you can take to avoid it totally.
Thirdly, this is another reminder that although GPS is one of the greatest innovations to aid the traveler, blindly depending on GPS can get you into a world of trouble. Ever follow a GPS route that leads you on worse and worse roads until after miles and miles you find yourself staring at a locked gate? I have, in a long wheelbase one-ton van towing a 34' Airstream trailer. Ever taken a short-cut route that GPS shows will get you to the highway only to find that the road they show turns into a dirt 4 wheel drive path before it gets to the main road? I have, fortunately that was in a car rather than an RV.
Fourth, railroad crossings are not to be taken lightly. 2665 people were killed in 2015 at highway-rail grade crossings. 76% of those occurred in 15 states https://oli.org/about-us/news/statistics...s-by-state . California, Texas and Illinois lead the pack with 52, 22 and 22 deaths respectively. Mississippi was number 10.
In the case of the bus in Mississippi, there was a warning sign "Low Ground Clearance" which I have never seen before. Be careful out there!!!
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