U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) officials said the agency has launched this year’s “Stop. Trains Can’t.” public education campaign as a means of bolstering rail grade crossing safety.
The DOT indicated the $6.6 million effort would run through Nov. 8. and include radio, digital and social media messaging designed to educate drivers while also targeting high-risk highway-railway crossings in Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee, and Texas.
“So many fatalities at highway-railway crossings are preventable; this campaign aims to raise public awareness and save lives,” Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao said.
Per the DOT, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) manage the campaign.
Over the past five years, 798 people have died while trying to drive across railroad tracks, and last year, 126 people were killed and 635 people injured at railroad crossings. Of the fatalities, officials noted, about 75 percent died after the driver went around lowered crossing gate arms.
“A train can’t swerve out of the way or stop on a dime,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator James Owens said. “We all have a responsibility to be safe while on the highways, and that means drivers must always look carefully before driving across train tracks and obey any warning signals or lowered crossing gate arms. Trying to beat a train could cost you your life.”