Fatalities from motor-vehicle collisions with trains--Kansas, 1990-1994

During 1983-1992, a total of 5831 deaths in the United States were attributed to motor-vehicle collisions with trains. During that same period, Kansas had the third highest death rate in the United States from motor-vehicle collisions with trains, and the annual rate for the state (0.8 per 100,000 persons) was approximately four times the national rate (0.2 deaths per 100,000 persons). To identify approaches for preventing such collisions, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) characterized all fatal motor-vehicle collisions with trains at highway-rail grade crossings in the state from 1990 through 1994. This report summarizes the results of that study.