Letter to Mr. Overbeek, Mr. Mistele, Mr. Pichai, Mr. McMahon, Mr. Greer, Ms. Wright, Mr. Haoui, Ms. Schewel, Mr. Nagda, and Mr. Abney - Schumer sounds alarm on GPS companies dragging feet on implementing data vital to millions of NY drivers & the +5,000 NY rail crossings; with many deaths in NY since 2017, senator says companies must incorporate data to improve the safety of roads & save lives ASAP

Letter

Dear Mr. Overbeek, Mr. Mistele, Mr. Pichai, Mr. McMahon, Mr. Greer, Ms. Wright, Mr. Haoui, Ms. Schewel, Mr. Nagda, and Mr. Abney:

I write today to express serious concern with the lack of significant progress in addressing the railroad safety recommendations sent to your companies by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in 2016. Three years have gone by without your companies incorporating grade crossing-related geographic data into your Global Positioning System (GPS) applications. Each day that passes by consumers who rely on your navigation services for a safe commute remain in harm's way. With over 5,358 railroad crossing across New York State and over three years of a delay in action by your company, it is with great concern that I urge you to update your navigation applications to include the grade crossings with all due speed.

As you may know, in February 2015 the NTSB investigated a fatal crash in Oxnard, California in which a train collided with a truck that had become lodged on the train track. The collision resulted in the death of the train engineer and injuries to 32 other individuals. The NTSB determined that the truck driver, who was relying on a navigation application, misinterpreted the available audio and visual cues causing him to turn onto the railroad tracks. At the time of the crash, lights and gates at the grade crossing were not active because no train was approaching. In response to the tragic incident, in December 2016 the NTSB wrote to your companies recommending that navigation applications include grade crossing-related geographic data "to provide road users with additional safety cues and to reduce the likelihood of crashes at or near public or private grade crossings". After the NTSB guidelines were issued, there were 273 at-grade railroad crashes in 2017, the most recent year for which data was available. Even in my home state of New York we saw 12 deaths and 44 injuries from at-grade rail crossing crashes between 2017 and 2019. Without these safety improvements, commuters, train operators, and pedestrians remain at risk as they travel on roads that intersect grade crossings.

Most troubling is that it appears that of the 14 companies addressed in the NTSB letter that still operate navigation systems, only three have taken action to implement all of the recommendations. While no amount of data can prevent all accidents, improving the warnings available to commuters may help reduce the chances for tragedy. Even one preventable death is unacceptable.

Given the near universal commuter dependence on navigation applications and the severe public safety threat railroad accidents pose, I urge that you all work maximally to incorporate the grade crossing-related geographic data into your map apps.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

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