(The following story by Annie McLeod appeared on the Regina Leader-Post website on April 28, 2009.)
REGINA, Sask. — Motorists pulled over by police near railway crossings this week may receive more from the officer than they expect.
April 27 to May 3 marks Rail Safety Week, and Canadian National and Canadian Pacific police across Canada and the United States are out to warn motorists and pedestrians about the importance of safety at crossings and the dangers of trespassing.
“CN is trying to bring about a higher level of education to the public by developing a program that causes people to take note, stop, and consider the things they don’t daily do as they’re driving, especially as they’re approaching railway crossings,” said Const. Hugh Beechy with the CN police.
CN’s safety awareness campaign is called Target Zero, and its objective is zero accidents, zero injuries, and zero fatalities. In 2008, there were 287 incidents related to railway grade crossing and trespassing in Canada, which resulted in 56 serious injuries and 73 fatalities.
“This needless amount of incidents is certainly preventable. Most of the things we come across, that we see, are inattentive activities or people just don’t see the risks involved in what they’re doing,” said Beechy, adding that incidents have occurred because of something as simple as snowmobiling near the tracks and not paying attention to an approaching train.
When officers pull over a motorist for a traffic violation this week, the offence will be discussed, but how the driving relates to the crossings will be brought to attention as well.
Ron Keewaitin was one of the motorists to be pulled over by Beechy on Tuesday morning. He said he crosses railway tracks about 10 times per day, and that while he’s always careful, the information Beechy provided will help him remain aware of railway safety.
“(The program) keeps you up to date on a lot of things, because a lot of times we’re not aware of (safety) … or we forget about it,” said Keewaitin. “We have to be aware of it at all times — that’s where it reduces the accidents.”
Const. David Mess with the CP Police Service was out Tuesday afternoon looking for traffic offences committed near the tracks at Ring Road and Winnipeg Street. The Regina Police Service and the RCMP were there to assist.
“What we’re trying to do today is have people aware of crossings, their vehicle speed, and to be aware that any time is train time,” he said. “Look, listen, and live.”
While Beechy said most railway incidents result from high-risk behaviours, many innocent people end up in incidents due to a lack of discretion. One of the most important messages he wants residents to know is to regard every railway crossing as an intersection.
“Don’t treat a railroad crossing as just something that you’re going to see a train, or hear a train, when you need to worry about it,” he said. “Treat it as an intersection like you would any other street. Look left, look right, pay attention to the signals. If you see a flashing red light, that means stop and proceed when safe — no different than flashing red lights at any other intersection.”