Operation Lifesaver

Jason Caldwell
423-943-9459
Mitchell_Caldwell@csx.com

Operation Lifesaver is:
An active continuous public information and education program to help prevent and reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities and improve driver performance at the nation’s 268,000 public and private highway/rail grade crossings.

Why it is needed:
. . . Because thousands of people are seriously injured and hundreds are killed in nearly 3,800 highway/rail grade crossing crashes each year.

. . . Because a rail/highway grade crossing presents a unique traffic environment for motorists, many drivers do not cross railroad tracks often enough to be familiar with the warning devices designed for their safety. Often they are unaware that trains cannot stop as quickly as motor vehicles to avoid a collision. Others simply ignore all warnings because they are “in a hurry” and would rather play “beat the train” than wait. Driver ignorance and impatience are the most common factors contributing to motor vehicle/train collisions at highway/rail grade crossings.

When it began:
. . . Operation Lifesaver began in Idaho in 1972 after community leaders and the railroad together developed a public education program to avoid tragedies by urging people to make safe decisions at highway-rail grade crossings. At the end of the first year, Idaho’s highway-rail grade crossing fatality rate dropped by 39 percent.

. . . A second program, initiated in Nebraska, demonstrated even more impressive results after a one-year period — a 46 percent reduction in rail/highway grade crossing fatalities.

. . . In recent years, the program has been expanded to encourage safety on rail rights-of-way with the slogan, “Stay Off! Stay Away! Stay Alive!”