Every three minutes, a person or vehicle is struck by a train, according to rail safety advocates. As part of Rail Safety Weeks, drivers and pedestrians can learn to make safer decisions around train tracks. The number is staggering; the result, often deadly.
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Every three hours, a person or vehicle is hit by a train in the United States. However, many of these are preventable. This is one of the many reasons why being educated about rail safety is so important.
According to preliminary FRA statistics, 1,175 pedestrian rail trespass casualties (fatalities + injuries) occurred in 2022. There were 626 trespass-related fatalities and 549 trespass injuries across the U.S. in 2022. Approximately 84% of all 2022 trespass casualties occurred in these states. 1.
If the person was struck by a train it is necessarily brought to an immediate stop. This leads to the line being blocked and possible subsequent delays to other trains in the area.
Did you know that a person or a vehicle gets hit by a train every two hours in the United States? This includes the most disastrous of all accidents—a train-on-train collision, which can have catastrophic consequences. Approximately 1,000 people per year are killed in train accidents.
Compared to other popular forms of travel, such as cars, ships, buses, and planes, trains are one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States.
There are about three train derailments per day. They usually aren't disasters The U.S. saw more than one thousand train derailments last year, but industry leaders say traveling by rail remains one of the safest methods of transportation.
Approximately 1,000 people per year are killed in train accidents. However, the individual hit by the train sometimes survives and lives to tell the story of what it was like.
Freight and Commuter TrainsDon't stop on the tracks. Make sure you have room to get across. Once you enter the crossing, keep moving. Stop 15 feet away from flashing red lights, lowered gates, a signaling flagman or a stop sign.
The average freight train is about 1 to 1¼ miles in length (90 to 120 rail cars). When it's moving at 55 miles an hour, it can take a mile or more to stop after the locomotive engineer fully applies the emergency brake. An 8-car passenger train moving at 80 miles an hour needs about a mile to stop.
It is absolutely not legal to ride on any part of a freight train without the express permission of the railroad. You would be guilty of trespassing and of theft of service since you would be getting railroad transportation without paying for it.
Run away from the tracks and your car to avoid being hit by flying debris. Call the number on the blue emergency notification system sign. If the sign is not visible to you, call 911.
Be standing between the rails and get struck from behind by a fast moving train...you might bounce clear and your body will be spared the mangling, but the effect would be a lot like getting hit in the back of the head with a sledghammer...you might have a brief flash of pain, but then it would be lights out.