Despite perceptions to the contrary, the nation's railways are busier than ever -- and the trains on them have become technologically advanced to run so quietly, "they're almost stealth vehicles," says Marmie Edwards of Operation Lifesaver Inc., a nationwide railroad safety group.
Misconceptions about frequency, speed and sound of trains appear to be fueling the rising number of pedestrians killed by trains, Ms. Edwards said in an interview at the group's national symposium in Indianapolis this week.
"People actually think the railroad tracks are a safe place to walk -- they're not, under any circumstances," Ms. Edwards said. "It's also trespassing; it's illegal."
Operation Lifesaver is focusing on what it calls "the trespasser problem," because last year, for the first time, the number of train-pedestrian deaths exceeded the number of train-motorist deaths.
In both types of accidents last year, nearly 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 were hurt -- many seriously, the group says.
More public education and enforcement efforts are needed to stop people from walking on railroad tracks and driving cars around railroad-crossing gates, Ms. Edwards said.
BY THE NUMBERS
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 There are 250,000 miles of railroad tracks in the United States. Following a decline from 1989 to 1992, the number of miles freight trains traveled increased 24 percent between 1989 and 1997.
Last year, vehicles traveled 2.53 trillion miles -- and trains traveled 474.9 million miles.
Despite the increased number of miles traveled by trains and vehicles, the number of train-vehicle crashes has declined 42 percent. Still, last year, 450 people were killed in such crashes. Meanwhile, train-pedestrian crashes have fluctuated, but have recently been increasing. Last year, trains struck and killed 533 pedestrians.
The problems are continuing even though 2,500 certified Operation Lifesaver presenters give safety talks to nearly 2 million Americans annually.
The Federal Railway Administration credits Operation Lifesaver with helping to save 10,000 lives and preventing 40,000 injuries since the group's inception in 1972. Source: Operation Lifesaver Inc., Alexandria, Va. |
The problem is most acute in California, where 80 people were killed walking along train tracks last year. Such deaths were in the double digits for at least 17 other states -- including Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, revised figures from Operation Lifesaver show.
Just last week, a pair of just-engaged 17-year-olds almost died while taking a romantic moonlight stroll along a Butler County railroad track.
Brett Lay of Trenton was struck July 6 after he pushed his fiancee, Mandy Cook of Hamilton, to safety. Brett, who was hospitalized for a week with a leg injury, will need reconstructive surgery on his crushed left hand; both teens face juvenile charges of trespassing. They say they didn't know walking along railroad tracks is illegal and didn't think much about the danger.
That's what many people are telling police in Hamilton and throughout the Tristate.
With about 50 trains a day traveling past Hamilton's 43 railroad crossings, the city is one of the region's busiest railroad areas, said CSX Special Agent Don Camper.
So about once a month, Hamilton police and the railroad police "sweep" the city for railroad scofflaws, said Hamilton Police Sgt. Dan Pratt.
In just two hours Wednesday, police snared 20 violators -- and that's about average, Mr. Camper said.
Seven of the violators were issued citations for driving around railroad gates. The maximum penalty is $60, according to Hamilton Municipal Court.
Thirteen people were issued warnings for walking on railroad tracks. They could have faced a criminal trespassing charge punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.
"One lady with two children walked right by a "No Trespassing' sign -- within reaching distance -- and said she didn't see it," said Mr. Camper, a railroad police officer for 25 years. "Some of the things we see happening are just unbelievable."
The accidents can be devastating for the engineers who try to stop their trains, but can't, said Ms. Edwards.
According to Don Slemmer, Ohio coordinator of Operation Lifesaver, the most recent Cincinnati-area train-pedestrian death was in Golf Manor on Sept. 2. Connie E. Dotson, 56, was sitting along some railroad tracks. She tried to get away and the train tried to stop, but she was killed.
Many other non-fatal incidents occur with little notice, authorities said.
On July 10, two juveniles hopped onto a train in Norwood. One rode it to Reading, then jumped off; the other jumped off in Cincinnati. Both teens were injured; they ended up at Children's Hospital Medical Center, authorities said.
The 450 safety advocates who attended the Indianapolis conference, which ended Wednesday, heard similar stories from across the nation. Some in the audience gasped and shook their heads after hearing Paul Hawker, an accident investigator from Utah, tell these stories: A young woman who hated getting catcalls and wolf whistles while she exercised told friends the railroad was "the safest place for her to jog," Mr. Hawker said. A train ran into her, killing her, while she wore a headset radio.
A young man taking a shortcut fell and got his foot caught along a railroad track -- and a train came. Its conductor couldn't stop; his foot was severed and the young man lay bleeding for 40 minutes before he was discovered.
A 76-year-old woman liked to walk her dog along the tracks. She told friends it was convenient because "she didn't have to clean up the mess." A train struck her and her dog; both were killed.
"These types of stories are repeated daily throughout this country," Mr. Hawker said. "The public has the tendency to believe that railroad tracks are like roads and they are the public's. . . . This is a nationwide problem."
