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FEC FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY COMPANY Mr. Don C. Scurlock, Jr., Chairman Board of County Commissioners Indian River County 1840 25th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 Dear Mr. Scurlock: P. O. DRAWER 1048, ONE MALAGA STREET, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA 32084 OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT October 26, 1984 File: 79.12.19 D1STMUTTON LAST Commissioners Administrator Attorney Personnel Pubic Works ✓ Community Dev. Utilities Finance Cther Your letter of September 28, 1984, addressed "To Whom It May Concern", Florida East Coast Railway, Jacksonville, Florida, has been referred to me. Your letter deals primarily with the sounding of train whistle signals during the hours of 10:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. at railroad crossings which are equipped with automatic control devices. You request that FEC Railway "..voluntarily reduce or restrict the number of horn sound- ings at intersections with automatic traffic control devices between 10:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M." Under Florida Law, except to the extent provided by the Florida Legis- lature in its recent enactment of Amendment to Section 351.03, Florida Statutes, requires that a railroad train approaching a public at -grade crossing emit an audible signal. Railroad Operating Rules, approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, prescribe the crossing whistle sig- nal as two (2) long blasts, one (1) short blast and one (1) final long blast of the whistle as each train approaches and passes over a railroad crossing. The FRA requires that a locomotive whistle meet a decibel rating of at least 96 decibels. When a crossing accident occurs, one of the first determinations to be made by investigating authorities is whether or not a whistle signal was sounded by the train approaching the crossing. In fact, you are pro- bably aware of a recent unfortunate collision between one of the Florida East Coast Railway Company's trains and a school bus at a crossing just south of Fort Pierce. There were two fatalities as a result of this accident and the accident was promptly investigated by the Federal Rail- road Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Florida Department of Transportation. One of the primary issues to be resolved by these investigators was whether or not the train had sounded appropriate whistle signals approaching the crossing. I understand that witnesses were unanimous in their statements that the whistle signals had been sounded properly. The next issue.was whether or not the locomotive whistle met the required decibel rating. Test was made and it was found that it did meet this requirement. I relate this only to point out to you the reason why Florida East Coast Railway cannot agree to voluntarily reduce the use of train whistles and horns. I might add that FEC is dedicated to enhancing safety at crossings and while it will comply with any Ordinance passed, which is in conformity with the Florida Statutes, it must sound prescribed whistle signals ex- cept to that extent. 21 BOOK N O V 14 1984