(The Sandusky Register published the following story on April 29.)
SANDUSKY, Ohio — When slowing down to drive over train tracks, most drivers are trying toprotect the underside of their cars, not their lives.
But the danger railroad tracks may present was precisely the message Sandusky police and Norfolk Southern hoped to get across Monday.
At least 450 drivers passed through a safety blitz at the Campbell Street train crossing, where information was handed out about the dangers faced by drivers at train crossings, especially in moments of impatience and ignorance.
The 3.5-hour Monday morning blitz represented the cooperative efforts of rail company Norfolk Southern, which owns the Campbell Street track, the Sandusky Police Department and Operation Lifesaver, according to Curtis McElroy, a locomotive engineer with Norfolk Southern and trainer for Operation Lifesaver.
Operation Lifesaver is a national, non-profit education and awareness program dedicated to ending collisions at train crossings.
Always expect a train, warns a booklet handed to drivers Monday.
Among other tips: Under Ohio law, people can be charged with trespassing if they walk along railroad tracks because the tracks are private property. Other old myths — such as rusty tracks aren’t a sign the railway isn’t being used — are also addressed, with the reminder that tracks are made of steel, which rusts easily, so it’s hard to tell if the tracks are in use.
A coloring book for children which emphasizes kids should never play on railroad trestles or in tunnels, was also given.
According to Sheldon Senek, Operation Lifesaver’s Ohio coordinator, such blitzes are held around the state about once a month. The locations are picked depending in part on the volume of train traffic an area receives.
In 2002, there were 20 fatal train/car accidents out of 120 such crashes total in Ohio. Of the 100 crashes that were not fatal, injuries were suffered in one-third of the accidents.
There were three fatal train/car accidents, and 13 crashes total, in January of this year in Ohio. Data for February and March was unavailable.
Driver cockiness is a problem — about half of all train and car crashes in Ohio occur when people try to sneak through downed crossing bars with flashing lights, Senek said. In part because of the high volume of trains through Ohio as they carry cargo to the coasts, Ohio ranks fifth in the nation in the total number of train-car crashes, and sixth in the nation for the number of fatalities resulting from these crashes.
There are 6,100 public train crossings in Ohio, not including train-road crossing that might be on private properties.
A freight train moving at 55 mph, or a passenger train moving at 79 mph, can take a mile or more to fully stop, according to Operation Lifesaver.