(The following story by David Gialanella appeared on the Courier News website on June 2.)
ELGIN, Ill. — Come on, admit it. At least once, maybe as a kid, you took a shortcut across the railroad tracks. Maybe as an adult, you’ve been tempted to the ignore flashing lights at a train crossing and zoom your car across, because you know you’ve got plenty of time to make it.
With everyone in a rush to get from one place to another, these temptations are common. But they often lead to fatal misjudgments, government and railroad industry officials say.
The Union Pacific Railroad and Illinois Operation Lifesaver hosted a morning-long train ride from Belvidere to West Chicago on Friday, as a chance to educate folks about the importance of train safety.
And with the driver involved in December’s fatal train-van accident in Elgin scheduled to appear in 16th Circuit Court on felony charges June 8, it’s as fitting a time as any to highlight the importance of safety along Kane County’s many rail corridors, officials said.
“In my view, we can’t dummy-proof the world,” said Gordon Bowe, a Union Pacific conductor aboard the “Operation Lifesaver Special” on Friday morning. A 30-year veteran of the industry, Bowe has been involved with Operation Lifesaver since 1996 and has spoken at schools in several area towns, including Elgin, Bartlett and Streamwood.
According to the Illinois Commerce Commission, between 2002 and 2006 there were 874 mishaps statewide at rail crossings involving both vehicles and pedestrians, resulting in hundreds of injuries and deaths. In Elgin, there were two collisions resulting in five injuries and four deaths in that time period — the only four fatalities to occur in Kane County during that window.
Trespassing on railroad property resulted in hundreds more trips to the hospital or morgue, officials said.
Breaking the rules doesn’t keep just pencil-pushing statisticians busy — it gives police, fire and emergency medical workers plenty to do as well.
There was a strong presence of emergency responders on the Operation Lifesaver Special, including Huntley police Sgt. Michael Klunk.
“It just seems like the rail service gets more and more important in the scheme of things with oil prices going up,” Klunk said.
More people, crossings
Huntley — much like Hampshire and other western suburbs — is experiencing a population boom that only will increase foot and vehicle traffic at rail crossings. Also, Metra is considering extending the Milwaukee District West line to include a commuter rail stop in Huntley, adding to the frequency with which trains pass through those once sleepy towns.
Gilberts is another municipality that has no commuter rail stops, but one officer said the village’s freight crossings keep police very busy as it is.
“It’s a big problem,” Gilberts police Sgt. Jack Rood said about drivers ignoring stop signals at crossings.
“If one crosses, there’s going to be five crossing. I wish they’d make it (so) you get suspended for doing that.”
Gilberts has a total of five crossings. Only one is equipped with gates, while one has only a crossing sign with no flashing lights. Rood said that aside from the large number of illegal crossing citations police hand out, there also have been a considerable number of collisions, including one this winter in which a driver of a sport utility vehicle actually struck the side of a passing train in a blizzard.
Operation Lifesaver began in Idaho in 1972, in response to a spate of railroad incidents nationwide. And with more than 252,000 rail crossings in the United States, according to the Union Pacific’s Bowe, educators continue to have their work cut out for them.
Rail safety is a complicated issue that many take for granted, but Operation Lifesaver breaks it down to a catchphrase that anyone can remember:
“Look … Listen … Live!”