Rail Safety Campaign Begins as Fatalities Climb Slightly

To remind motorists and pedestrians about the hazards of moving trains, federal, state and local officials gathered at downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station on Monday to kick off a new statewide rail safety campaign.

The good news is that rail-related accidents and deaths are declining nationwide, officials said. But California’s fatalities crept up slightly in the first half of this year, and the state last year accounted for 26% of the nation’s accidents and fatalities involving pedestrians on tracks.

“To me, what’s most upsetting is that almost all of these incidents can be prevented,” said Doug Failing, the district director for Los Angeles and Ventura counties for the California Department of Transportation.

Failing and others spoke underneath two colorful banners -- one in English, the other in Spanish -- depicting a speeding locomotive and the phrase, “Tons of reasons why you should stop.”

California logged 131 accidents and 67 deaths involving pedestrians or vehicles at street crossings in the first six months of this year, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, which excluded suicides from its statistics. That compares with 144 incidents and 65 fatalities in the first half of last year.

Richard Clark, director of safety for the California Public Utilities Commission, said his saddest accident investigations involve young victims.

“Parents must teach children about the dangers of railroad crossings,” said Clark, who is currently leading an investigation into rail accidents in the eastern San Fernando Valley.

An earlier Times analysis of 10 years of Metrolink data showed that more train-vehicle accidents occurred along the 18-mile segment from Sylmar to Glendale than along any other corridor in the agency’s six-county network.

Metrolink Executive Director David Solow said his agency is in the midst of its own campaign to install nearly 2,000 signs prohibiting pedestrians from walking along tracks, along with billboards warning motorists against trying to beat trains.

“Every grade crossing is an accident waiting to happen,” Solow warned.

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Tips for Drivers

Stop when lights begin to flash and before the gate goes down. Do not proceed until the gates go up and the lights stop flashing.

* Avoid getting trapped. Never drive onto railroad tracks until you are certain you can clear all the tracks without stopping.

* If your vehicle stalls, get everyone out immediately and far away from the tracks. Call 911 to report the emergency situation.

* Never race across tracks to beat the train. Going around gates that are already down is a deadly game.

* Beware of optical illusions: You cannot accurately judge a train’s speed or distance. An oncoming train will seem to be farther away and moving more slowly than it really is. Judging speed and distance at night is particularly difficult.

* Don’t expect trains to successfully brake for you. An eight-car passenger train traveling 80 miles per hour requires about a mile to stop.

* If you are at a multiple-track crossing and the last car of the closest train passes by, stay alert. Before crossing, look and listen carefully for another train on a different track that may come from either direction.

Source: California Operation Lifesaver

Los Angeles Times