(The following editorial was published in the January 15 online issue of the Everett Daily Herald.)
EVERETT, Wash. — Until people start to think of train tracks the way they would a busy road or freeway, the likelihood of tragedies like the one near Edmonds Friday remains.
It’s understandable why so many of us disregard the danger. Compared with our vehicle-clogged streets, train tracks look safe and quiet. Perfect for walking the dog, jogging along, hanging out with friends or crossing to get to the beach. All it takes, though, is one misstep for a death to occur.
The 14-year-old boy who was struck and killed by an Amtrak headed from Seattle to Chicago was the 32nd train-related fatality in this state since January 2001, railroad officials reported. Sixty percent of those deaths took place on the tracks between Bellingham and Tacoma. But those aren’t the only tracks people feel free to walk on or near in our county.
A few years back law enforcement found trouble spots in places like Everett, where transients often camp along the tracks, and in Marysville and Monroe, where kids follow the tracks to school. Several cities had their own set of problems with people crossing or following railroad tracks for different reasons.
Officials took the right step a couple of years ago when they announced a no-tolerance policy for trespassing on tracks, which are private property. Betting on the fact that most people probably didn’t even know it was illegal to be on or near the tracks, officials hoped to get the message out. But it’s a tough sell. Trains are actually much quieter than they used to be (unless the horn is blowing at you, in which case it might be too late) and they create an optical illusion when they’re coming at you nearly head-on. People can’t tell how fast a train is actually going and they don’t consider that it takes the average freight train a mile to stop. And unlike a car, a train can’t swerve to miss you.
Most of us would never dream of crossing a heavy-traffic road without a crosswalk or taking the dog for a stroll on the shoulder of I-5. The dangers are obvious and so are the laws. Somehow that message hasn’t translated to train-track safety, despite law enforcement’s and railroad officials’ efforts.
Maybe that’s because the number of pedestrian trespassing accidents probably doesn’t come close to the number of deaths in other modes of transportation. But that is of no comfort to the 32 families this year alone who are mourning the deaths of their loved ones.