Javascript Menu by Deluxe-Menu.com Norfolk Southern – The Thoroughbred of Transportation | Creating green jobs shipping freight by rail
USER ID PASSWORD
Need Password Help?
NS Police Emergency Contact: 800-453-2530
Who to Call
Home  >>  Community
Operation Lifesaver

Look, Listen and Live


If you're a motorist, Norfolk Southern urges you to "look, listen and live" whenever you approach a highway-rail grade crossing.

In an average year, some 2,300 people are injured and another 500 killed at the nation's 300,000 public and private highway-rail grade crossings. The chance for serious injury or death in a train motor-vehicle collision is 11 times greater than for other types of highway crashes.

Many accidents are caused by motorist inattention. In more than 50 percent of the crashes, drivers disregard flashing red lights or gates that warn of approaching trains. In about a third of nighttime highway-rail grade crossing crashes, motor vehicles run into the sides of trains. Motorists can become complacent about crossing the same tracks day after day, allowing advance warning signs and crossbucks to become just part of the scenery.

Motorists should remember that, while automobiles can make relatively quick stops, trains can't, because of their tremendous weight. For example, a freight train with 150 cars traveling 30 mph requires 5/8 mile to stop. A passenger train with eight cars traveling 80 mph requires 1 1/8 miles to stop. The train can't stop quickly -- but you can.

If you know of a malfunctioning signal, please tell us about it by calling (800)-453-2530 .

Trespassing on railroad property is another way some people needlessly expose themselves to potential danger. Each year, some 600 people are killed and as many injured as a consequence of their illegal entry onto railroad property.

Joggers, walkers, bikers, hikers, hunters, fishermen and all-terrain vehicle operators -- all should be aware that railroad tracks and railroad rights of way (the property on either side of the track) are off limits to everyone except authorized railroad personnel. It's against the law to walk between the rails, walk or drive along the tracks, cross over the tracks except at designated crossing areas, and to drive or walk along the rights of way without prior authority.

It is especially dangerous -- and illegal -- to try to hop a ride on a train. The current popularity of hopping trains as a recreational activity is disturbing, and we consider it irresponsible not only to practice it, but to advocate or glorify it.

In the interest of public safety, Norfolk Southern and other railroads participate in Operation Lifesaver, a national organization that works to make everyone aware of the potential hazards associated with railroads. For more information about Operation Lifesaver, call (800) 537-6224.

Highway-Rail Safety Links