What you can do to remain safe around the railroad tracks in your town

3/21/2012

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Always expect a train; look both ways prior to crossing the tracks

Remove earphones and end all cell-phone conversations prior to crossing. More than half of train versus pedestrian incidents between 2004 and 2011 involved headphone use (Lichenstein, Smith, Ambrose, & Moody, 2012)

Never try to “beat” the train when crossing and you note a train coming

Only cross in those areas designated for pedestrian crossing

Remain drug and alcohol free if you decide to cross the railroad as both can greatly impair your judgment

Source:

Lichenstein, R., Smith, D., Ambrose, J., & Moody, L. (2012). Headphone use and pedestrian injury and death in the United States: 2004-2011. Injury Prevention. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2011-040161




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Just the facts ma'am

3/21/2012

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In 2009, 7 major railroads existed in the United States compared to 14 in 1990 (United States Census Bureau, 2012)

There was an estimated 160,000 miles of railroad in the United States for 2010 (Association of American Railroads, 2010)

Every 120 minutes in the United States, there are train collisions with motor vehicles or pedestrians (Chattar-Cora, Tutela, Daum, & Cromack, 2007)

In 2005, railroad trespassers accounted for 53% of rail fatalities (Savage, 2007)

The transcontinental railroad was built in the 1860s as a means to link the eastern US with the west (The first transcontinental railroad, nd)

Sources:

American Association of Railroads. (2010). Class I railroad statistics. Retrieved from: http://www.aar.org/~/media/aar/Industry%20Info/AAR%20Stats%202010%200524.ashx

Chattar-Cora, D., Tutela, R., Daum, A., & Cromack, D. (2007). Experience with railroad injuries at a major urban trauma center serving the United States-Mexico border. Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical Care 62, (5), 1123-1126.
Savage, I. (2007). Trespassing on the railroad. Research in Transportation Economics, 20, 199-224.

The first transcontinental railroad. (nd). Retrieved from: http://www.tcrr.com/

United States Census Bureau. (2012). Table 1122: railroads class I summary: 1990-2009. Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1122.pdf



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