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Kagoshima, Japan: Initiative teaches safe behaviours at crossings
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Children at a school in the Fukudaira district of Kagoshima re being taught how to use level crossings safely with a particular focus on cyclists. The initiative aimed at elementary school children has been mounted following the death of a pupil on a level crossing.
About 60 children participated with other family members present so that they too could reinforce save behaviours when talking with their children. To support the initiative a level crossing, complete with active controls was set-up in the school grounds to allow children to see and hear level crossing warnings at first hand.
(July 31st, 2010)
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Radford, Virginia: Operation lifesaver and Norfolk Southern join forces
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Operation Lifesaver Virginia and Norfolk Southern joined forces to educate Virginians about level crossing safety with the help of a special passenger train. The initiative on July 28th, 2010 saw the train operate from Radford to Glade Spring and back again. Passengers on the train were law enforcement officials and others who contribute to managing the risk that arises at level crossings.
Throughout the trip, images from a head-end camera were fed live into the passenger cars, enabling everyone on board to see what the train driver sees. All too often the camera captures images of people behaving recklessly at level crossings with the intent of beating the train.
In 2009 Virginia saw three fatalities and nine injuries from 34 vehicle collisions on level crossings across the state. Additionally, eight pedestrians were killed and seven injured on railway rights-of-way.
(July 29th, 2010) |
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New Orleans, Louisiana: Big name sports star signs on with Operation Lifesaver
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Garrett Hartley, the kicker for the New Orleans Saints whose last-minute, 40-yard field goal kick sent his team to the 2010 Super Bowl, emphasises the importance of making safe decisions quickly at level crossings in a new public service announcement filmed in New Orleans. Rail safety non-profit Operation Lifesaver and Hartley teamed up on the project.
“When you come to a railroad crossing, the decisions you make can mean the difference between life – or death,” says Helen Sramek, President of Operation Lifesaver. “Garrett Hartley is well-known to fans along the Gulf Coast and nationwide, and we are grateful to him for reminding drivers and pedestrians that it only takes an instant for lives to change.“
The 30-second public service announcement, which includes National Football League footage from Hartley’s historic field goal, will air in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma (Hartley is an Oklahoma graduate).
(July 28th, 2010) |
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Left to right: Pat Edwards, LA OL, Garrett Hartley, New Orleans Saints, Carolyn Cook, FRA, Marmie Edwards, OLI |
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Manchester, United Kingdom: 59% don’t recognise level crossing sign |
Research by Swinton Insurance has found that 59% of motorists don’t recognise a level crossing warning sign. Swinton determined this by way of an on-line survey of 1,000 of their customers who were asked to identify eight road signs.
Overall male motorists had a success rate of 85% and women 71%. In addition to a worryingly low score of 41% for the level crossing warning sign, only 8% correctly identified the meaning of the sign for a risk of grounding.
Steve Chelton, Insurer Development Manager for Swinton car insurance, said: "This survey has uncovered some rather startling results. All drivers should have comprehensive knowledge of the Highway Code and be able to recognise every single road sign, especially warning signs such as Level Crossing”.
Clearly it is time for everyone to brush-up on their knowledge of the Highway Code.
(July 26th, 2010) |
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Knoxville, Tennessee: Operation lifesaver on the road with Norfolk Southern |
Operation Lifesaver Tennessee teamed with Norfolk Southern (NS) to help educate area officials about railway safety on July 21st, 2010.
Local police and railway officials had the opportunity to ride a three-car train consisting of two passenger cars and an exhibit car to learn what train drivers encounter on a daily basis.
Before riding, passengers had the opportunity to tour the exhibit car, which was an interactive learning station on train tracks. Passengers could test their driving skills on a NS simulator, which guided them through practical examples of what train drivers face daily; see what the hub of a railway terminal looks like; and read about the history of NS.
During a nearly five-hour ride, passengers also had the opportunity to see what the train driver was seeing through a head end camera. Passengers were told that as they travelled they could expect to see citizens breaking the law in the knowledge that local law enforcement were waiting to issue violators citations.
According to 2009 Federal Railroad Administration statistics, Tennessee ranked 10th nationwide in level crossing collisions, with 55.
(July 21st, 2010) |
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York, United Kingdom: Police mount two-day safety drive at crossing and nearby school
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Dangers of level crossings were driven home during a two-day-long safety campaign at the Millfield Lane level crossing in Nether Poppleton, York
Officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) spent two days at the level crossing, talking to people about the danger of using the crossing incorrectly. They also visited nearby Manor School to spread the safety message to pupils.
Leaflets carrying safety advice were delivered to 250 homes and 20 businesses in the area because some people are still putting their lives on the line by ignoring warning lights and sirens and trying to dash through crossings when trains are approaching.
Meanwhile, BTP and North Yorkshire Police have teamed up with Network Rail and Manor Church of England Comprehensive School, to highlight dangers of not crossing the track properly in Nether Poppleton.
Sgt Matt Popple, of the British Transport Police, said: "Safety at the busy level crossing is a top priority for us. A third of the students at Manor School live in the village of Poppleton and use the crossing to reach the school.
Vicki Smith, community safety manager at Network Rail, said: "We need pupils to realise the danger they would put themselves in if they ignore the warnings at the crossing."
(July 7th, 2010) |
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