Operation Lifesaver: Education’s Role in Highway-Rail Safety

Helen M. Sramek, OLI2008 MidStates Highway-Rail

Safety MeetingGrapevine, Texas, May 20, 2008

Operation Lifesaver

How time flies! May ‘07

MidStates represent . . .

• 16 states across the middle of the country

• 34% of U.S. population

• 48% of rail U.S. rail trackage

Highway Safety

Highway SafetyStatistics

Motor vehicle crashes Annual U.S. casualties:

< 40,000 deaths

< 2 million injuries

Highway-Rail Safety

Did You Know?

• Approximately every 2 hours in the U.S., a person or vehicle is hit by a train.

Railroad Safety

Crossing Incidents 2,742

Crossing Fatalities 339

Crossing Injuries 1,012

Trespass Fatalities 477

Trespass Injuries 396

Preliminary 2007 U.S. Rail Safety Statistics Source: Federal Railroad Administration

The Rail Safety Problem, 2007

MidStates Safety Improves

Category 2006 2007

Xing Incidents 1,352 1,263

Xing Deaths 188 148

Xing Injuries 528 484

Trespass Deaths

168 147

Trespass Injuries

189 173

Preliminary 2007 U.S. Rail Safety Statistics Source: Federal Railroad Administration

2007 MidStates Statistics

Category Total % of U.S.

Xing Incidents 1,263 46%

Xing Deaths 148 44%

Xing Injuries 484 48%

Trespass Deaths

147 31%

Trespass Injuries

173 44%

Preliminary 2007 U.S. Rail Safety Statistics Source: Federal Railroad Administration

Grade Crossing Trends

Successes despite:

• Increases in both number of cars and miles driven per year

• Resurgence in freight rail

• Increase in commuter rail

Increases in Passenger Rail

American Public Transportation Association (APTA) reported that in 2007:

• Light rail ridership increased 6.2%

• Commuter rail ridership increased 5.5 %

The Human Toll

Vehicle-Train Collisions: Tragedies that can turn catastrophic

• Disruption to communities: negative impact on traffic, commerce

• Impact on train crews

• The most preventable of crashes: we know where they could occur!

What’s New“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”

Sir Francis Bacon

Student Drivers

New OL Driver Ed Video: “Look to Live”

New OL Driver Ed Video

Provides flexibility and accessibility:

• Web component

• Driver education instructors can incorporate it in their programs

“Look to Live” Driver Ed Video

• Will post segments of video on

Professional Drivers

• Truck-trailer rigs in 2007 were involved in 17.6 % of vehicle-train collisions

OL Presenter’s Guide

• In 2009, we will update our presenter’s guide

• Will include new signage from MUTCD

Engineering Focus

• Later this year, a subgroup of OLI’s engineering committee will look into quiet zones

Results“You can't build a reputation

on what you are going to do.”

Henry Ford

Operation Lifesaver – Results

In 2007, OL reached:

• More than 3.7 million people via OL state programs, training and events nationwide

OL Driver Education

In 2007, OL reached:

• More than 198,000 new drivers in 6,500 Driver Ed presentations

• Nearly 104,000 high school students in 1,130 presentations

Outreach via www.oli.org

YouTube Generation

YouTube Generation

OLI objected to 3 videos:

• “Kid Films Himself on Train Tracks”

• “The Most Stupid Stunt of All Time?”

• “Guy Lies Under Train as it Passes”

YouTube Success!

Light Rail Education

• OL is now providing its safety training to transit agencies in major metropolitan areas

• Pilot project with Austin Capitol Metro

OL Safety Messages

Austin Capital Metro’s web page/poster

New Key Safety Tips pamphlet

Why OL is Important

• A proven model for collisions, injuries and fatalities

• A success story within the traffic safety community

• Crash statistics support this

Another Challenge –Pedestrian Rail Trespassing

Educating the Media

• Step up efforts to reduce trespass incidents

• Media images romanticize dangerous behavior

Local newspaper insert

Readers’ Digest

USA Today

Operation Lifesaver

Strengthening ties

with the

engineeringcommunity

Save the Date!

2008 Operation Lifesaver

Symposium & Training Seminars

Cincinnati Marriott at RiverCenter

July 21-23, 2008

www.oli.org