Operation Lifesaver Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 and dedicated to rail safety education. It has partnered with federal safety agencies and the nation’s railroads to launch the See Tracks? Think Train! Campaign aimed at raising awareness about risky pedestrians and driver behavior around railroad tracks. Janice Cowan, state coordinator of S.C. Operation Lifesaver, offers the following safety suggestions:
Important facts
• A typical freight train can take more than mile to stop, even when emergency brakes are applied — a distance of 18 football fields.
• It is never safe to stop closer than 15 feet from rails, and a train is at least three feet wider than tracks on both sides.
• 95 percent of all related deaths involve drivers trying to beat the train, or people trespassing on railroad tracks.
• More 50 percent of people injured or killed while trespassing on railroad tracks have drugs or alcohol in their systems.
• Railroad tracks are private property, and walking on them trespassing, illegal and dangerous, risking being ticketed or fined, seriously injured or killed.
Education and outreach is key to saving lives and the See Tracks? Think Train! PSAs will be supplemented with ongoing education efforts of Operation Lifesaver’s 50-state network of volunteers who work with the public, through events at schools, with law enforcement, first responders, professional drivers and community organizations.
During the fall/winter school season motorists and pedestrians need to use added awareness when crossing railroad tracks, because of busy schedules, increased traffic and inclement weather. Operation Lifesaver urges motorists and pedestrians to follow a few safety tips to ensure safe season:
Motorist safety
• Trains and cars don’t mix. Never race a train to the crossing. Even if you tie, you lose.
• The train you see is closer and faster moving than you think. If you see a train approaching, wait for it to go by before you proceed across the tracks.
• Never drive around lowered gates. It’s illegal and deadly. If you suspect a signal is malfunctioning, call the 1-800 number posted on or near the crossing signal or your local law enforcement agency.
• If your vehicle ever stalls on a track with a train coming, get out of the vehicle immediately and move quickly away from the tracks in the direction from which the train is coming. If you run in the same direction the train is traveling, when the train hits your car, you could be injured by flying debris. Call your local enforcement agency for assistance.
• At a multiple track crossing waiting for a train to pass, watch out for a second train on the other tracks, approaching from either direction.
• When you need to cross train tracks, go to a designated crossing, look both ways, and cross the tracks quickly, without stopping. Remember it isn’t safe to stop closer than 15 feet from a rail.
• Always expect a train! Freight trains do not follow set schedules.
Pedestrian safety
• The only safe place to cross is at a designated public crossing with either a cross buck, flashing red lights or a gate. It you cross at any other place, you are trespassing and can be ticketed or fined. Cross tracks ONLY at designated or roadway crossings.
• Railroad tracks, trestles, yards and equipment are private property and trespassers are subject to arrest and fine if you are in a rail yard uninvited by a railroad official. You are trespassing and subject to criminal prosecution! You could be injured or killed in a busy rail yard.
• Flashing red lights indicate a train is approaching from either direction. You can be fined for failure to obey these signals. Never walk around or behind lowered gates at a crossing, and DO NOT cross the tracks until the lights have stopped flashing and it is safe to do so.
• Do not hunt, fish or bungee jump from railroad trestles. There is only clearance on the tracks for a train to pass. Trestles are not meant to be sidewalks or pedestrian bridges. Never walk, run, cycle or operate all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on railroad tracks, rights-of-way or through tunnels.
• Do not attempt to hop aboard railroad equipment at any time. A slip of the foot can cost you a limb or your life.
Equipment
We are seeing professional photo shoots of families and children on the tracks. Clothing boutiques and stores pose children and teens on the tracks to show their new fashions for their websites, Facebook, and other social media sites. High schools are taking photographs and prom pictures on the tracks.
One of the problems is that people do not realize that railroad tracks are private property. Taking pictures on the tracks is dangerous but also illegal. Being on tracks to take photographs is trespassing.
Remember, it is a deadly track only if you make it one. You can prevent senseless tragedies at highway-rail crossings.
For more information about highway-rail grade crossing safety or to schedule a free presentation for your school, work place or group, call South Carolina Operation Lifesaver State Headquarters at 803-206-9081 or visit our website at www.oli.org