(Norfolk Southern issued the following news release on September 7.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Across the country, 480,000 school buses are transporting 25 million students back to the classroom. As the buses return to the highways, Norfolk Southern Railway reminds bus drivers, truck drivers and other motorists to stay alert at places where roads cross train tracks.
Each year, more than 2,000 people lose their lives or suffer serious injuries while on or beside railroad tracks, according to Operation Lifesaver, a national highway-rail safety program dedicated to eliminating vehicle-train collisions and trespasser incidents.
Operation Lifesaver advises motorists, pedestrians and students to use caution when walking or driving near railroad tracks. Cross track only at a designated crossing marked with a warning sign, lights or gates. Always look both ways, and proceed across the tracks quickly, without stopping. Flashing red lights and lowered gates signal that a train is approaching. Never cross the tracks if you see a train coming. Do not cross the tracks until the lights have stopped flashing, and never go under or around lowered gates. It is dangerous and illegal to go around railroad crossing arms, whether you are on foot or in a car.
To learn more about highway-rail safety, free presentations can be scheduled for your school, driver education class, trucking company, emergency response team, law enforcement agency or other community group. To schedule a presentation or to locate your state’s Operation Lifesaver coordinator, go to http://www.oli.org.
Operation Lifesaver recommends following these rules at highway-rail grade crossings:
Always expect a train. Trains can run on any track, at any time, in either direction. After one train passes, look both ways before proceeding across the tracks.
Trains cannot stop quickly. A 100-car train traveling 55 mph takes more than a mile to stop. That’s 18 football fields. By the time a locomotive engineer can see a vehicle or person on the tracks, it is too late to stop the train and avoid a collision.
A 100-car train weighs 6,000 tons. A train hitting a car is the equivalent of an automobile crushing a soft drink can.
Do not get trapped on the tracks. Proceed through a highway-rail grade crossing only if you are sure you can completely clear the crossing without stopping. Remember, the width of a train can extend three or more feet outside the rail.
If your vehicle stalls at a crossing, immediately get everyone out of the car and far away from the tracks even if you do not see a train. Call the emergency notification number posted on or near the crossing, or notify local law enforcement.
Watch for vehicles that must stop at railroad crossings. Most states require that school buses, commercial buses and trucks carrying hazardous materials stop at highway-rail crossings.
Don’t hunt, fish or bungee jump from railroad trestles. There only is enough clearance on the tracks for a train to pass.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC – News) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,200 route miles in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing superior connections to western rail carriers. NS operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is North America’s largest rail carrier of automotive parts and finished