Railroad crossings
A railroad crossing can present a dangerous situation for the motoring public,
says Operation Lifesaver, Inc., a national organization devoted to educating the
public about railroad crossing safety. Many drivers do not cross railroad tracks
often enough to be familiar with the warning devices designed for driver safety.
Often drivers are unaware that trains cannot stop as quickly as motor vehicles
can to avoid collisions. Others simply ignore all warning signs because they are
"in a hurry" and would rather play "beat the train" than wait.
Driver inattention and impatience are the most common factors contributing to
collisions, and thousands of people are seriously injured and hundreds are killed
at highway-rail grade crossings each year.
In
1998, 431 people lost their lives and 1,303 were seriously injured at railroad
crossings. Alarmingly, in the United States, approximately every 115 minutes a
train collides with a person or vehicle. Throughout our history, railroads have
served as reliable and critical modes of transporting goods and people. As life
becomes more complicated and roads more congested, communities must strive to
meet both commercial goals and objectives while keeping safety as a primary goal.
Here is how one community dealt with this dual challenge.
Operation Lifesaver Ohio's Community Partnership Program gets results.
Overview
For the past eight years, Operation Lifesaver
Ohio has embarked on a community partnership campaign to reduce the number of
vehicle crashes at railroad crossings throughout the state. Ohio ranks fourth
nationally in rail carloads handled and has 6,249 public grade crossings. In 1998,
Ohio ranked sixth nationally in crashes and ninth in grade crossing fatalities.
Partnerships were formed to combat these problems.
The
locations of the community partnership campaigns are based on two factors: railroad-crossing
crash history and the presence of community support. The components of each campaign
are based on specific community characteristics and needs. Thus, each campaign
looks slightly different; however, specific elements are present in all of them:
-
A community meeting, consisting of individuals
representing engineering, law enforcement, the media, the railroads, education,
and the private/civic sector.
-
A one-week media
blitz that includes a press conference; luncheon; stepped-up enforcement; presentations
to area schools and local safety groups; and mock crashes.
-
During the one-week media blitz, Operation Lifesaver's "Officer on the Train"
program is held. Legislators, community members, police chiefs, and citizens observe
stepped-up enforcement efforts first-hand by riding on a train. Each car has a
video monitor for viewing specific actions. Media involvement at this event is
extensive.
Results
Ohio
has 88 counties, and according to the source at Operation Lifesaver Ohio, two
to four counties participate in the program per year. The results have been outstanding.
In 1996, for example, Allen County, OH, experienced seven crashes, one fatality,
and seven injuries. After its blitz in March 1997, the numbers decreased to three
crashes, two fatalities, and zero injuries; in 1998, the community experienced
only two crashes and zero fatalities and injuries. Finally, in 1999 Allen County
experienced "zero" across the board: zero crashes, zero fatalities,
and zero injuries. Other communities have encountered similar results after creating
similar community partnership programs.
Contact
