In my office I have the following photo hanging. It is taken from an evidence card used in a trial that Dad was involved in back in the late fifties or early sixties. I’ve always considered this photo to be an object lesson – I call the photo “Attention To Details.”
FEC Railroad Crossing
c. 1960
Hollywood, Florida
As it has been explained to me, a motorist had been injured at this crossing and was suing the railroad claiming that he had stopped at the gates and was hit by the train. The railroad claimed that the only way that could have happened was that he was running the gates.
Public Service Announcement:
My father drilled one lesson into my head at a very young age – never, Never, NEVER run the gates at a railway grade crossing! Between you, your vehicle, and a locomotive, it is the locomotive that will always suffer the least damage.
But, I digress…
Dad went to the railway crossing one night at the time the accident occurred, got the fire department to spray water on the street to make it shiny because the night of the accident it had rained, and then snapped this photo to show that the crossing was properly signaled with crossbucks, crossing gates, roadway markings, and warning lights. They can all be seen in the photo and the evidence seemed to be on the side of the railway.
But according to family lore, there is one thing in this photo that the opposing counsel pointed-out proved the railroad was at fault.
If you look very closely, you will notice that the crossbucks on the left of the picture are facing away from the camera. You may also note that the two gates are on opposite sides of the crossing. You can see that all the lights and all the signals seem to be working just fine. The damning evidence, however, are not directly related to the crossing itself.
For the crucial evidence, look away from the crossing – specifically, look ABOVE the crossing! You see the signs directing you to US1? You know, the one that is hanging over the left-hand lane? Look closely at the street BELOW the crossing. you can make out that there used to be a yellow double line up the center of the road leading up to the crossing. The Railroad Crossbucks painted on the road now go across all three lanes; the signage above the crossing indicates that all three lanes are to be traveled one direction – away from the camera. The problem is that the crossing itself is still configured as if this were a road that has two-way traffic!
Hollywood had changed a two-way road to a one-way road; the railroad had NOT ever changed the signals at the crossing. So when the motorist pulled-up to the crossing gate he was sitting on the tracks.
That is why I call this photo “Attention To Details.”
That is why it hung in Dad’s office for as long as I can remember. That is why it hangs now in my office! It reminds me that in the software as in the law – you need to pay attention to the details.
Wherever you are today, I hope that the details support your plans!
Don Bergquist – February 19, 2018 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA
