14 Tips to Stay Safe Near Tracks

About every 90 minutes, a vehicle and a train collide in the United States. Did you know you are 30 times more likely to die in a crash with a train than with another motor vehicle?  

To avoid a crash with a train, always obey pertinent laws and traffic warning signals.  Use caution and be prepared to stop, look, listen and live. The Grafton Police Department would once again like to offer the following railroad safety tips from Operation Lifesaver to help keep you safe:

• When approaching train tracks, always expect a train. Freight trains do not follow set schedules.
• Train tracks are private property, no matter which railroad owns them.  Trains have the right of way 100% of the time, over vehicles, pedestrians, ambulances, fire engines and the police.
• Never drive around lowered gates, it's illegal and deadly. If you suspect a signal is malfunctioning, call the 1-800 number posted on or near the crossing signal or call the Grafton Police Department at 508-839-5343.
• Never race a train to the crossing. Even if you tie, you lose.
• Do not get trapped on the tracks.  Only proceed through a highway-rail grade crossing if you are sure you can completely clear the crossing without stopping. Remember, the train is three feet wider than the tracks on both sides.
• If your vehicle stalls on a crossing, immediately get everyone out and far away from the tracks. Call the police department for assistance.
• If your vehicle ever stalls on a track while a train is coming, get out immediately and move quickly away from the tracks in the direction the train is coming from. If you run in the same direction the train is traveling, when the train hits your car you could be injured by flying debris.
• At a multiple track crossing waiting for a train to pass, watch out for a second train on the other tracks approaching in either direction.
• If there are rails on the railroad ties, assume that the track is in use, even if there are weeds or the track looks rusty.
• Be aware that trains cannot stop quickly. Even if the locomotive engineer sees you, a freight train moving at 55 miles per hour can take a mile or more to stop once the emergency brakes are applied. That's 18 football fields.
• Do not be fooled; the train you see is closer and faster moving than you think.  If you see a train approaching, wait for it to go by before you proceed across the tracks.
• When you need to cross train tracks, go to a designated crossing, look both ways, and cross the tracks quickly, without stopping. Remember that it isn't safe to stop closer than 15 feet from a rail.  
• Don’t walk on or near rails or on railroad bridges. By the time a locomotive engineer can see a trespasser or a vehicle on the tracks, it’s too late.  The train cannot stop quickly enough to avoid a collision.
• Remember: Rail and recreation don't mix.

Anyone with questions for the Chief’s Column may submit them by mail to the , 28 Providence Road, Grafton, MA 01519. You may also email your questions or comments to chief@graftonpolice.com. Please include an appropriate subject line, as I do not open suspicious email for obvious reasons.  

Normand A. Crepeau, Jr. is Grafton's chief of police.