It was reported that the road signals had originally given a safe margin, but had been modified some months previously to allow a pedestrian crossing cycle, overlooking the possible consequences at the railroad crossing. The traffic signal would rest in the "WALK" indication for pedestrians during the morning commute period. When a train is detected, the pedestrian interval must be ended. This process used up 12 seconds of warning time as the train approached. Pedestrian volumes at this crosswalk were extremely light, according to a survey conducted by the Village of Fox River Grove in May 1996. IDOT traffic engineers responsible for establishing signal timings should have recognized that in this particular case, resting in "WALK" carries substantial risk and virtually no benefit, and should not have allowed the traffic signal to rest in the pedestrian "WALK" interval. If the traffic signals had not been serving the non-existent pedestrian, the bus would have had a green light 12 seconds earlier than it did, and the collision would almost certainly have been avoided.