It happens every three hours in the United States — a person or vehicle is struck by a train. Every time is a tragedy and lives are changed forever. In order to raise awareness of the dangers of being on, or around, railroad tracks, the first ever observance of U.S. Rail Safety Week is happening next week, and the Michigan Department of Transportation will join the kickoff.
Spearheaded by Operation Lifesaver, Inc. in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation and other safety organizations, a series of activities is being planned for each day of the week-long observation event. The goal is to share lifesaving messages throughout Michigan’s Great Southwest, and all across the country.
With many freight trains and Amtrak service routinely motoring through dozens of rail crossings in Berrien County alone, drivers need to always remain vigilant in watching for train activity when approaching the rails, especially at unmarked crossings with no flashing lights or lowering gates.
MDOT officials will join the Michigan Railroads Association, Operation Lifesaver, and CN Railroad to kick things off for National Rail Safety week around the railroad tracks and encourages social media users to utilize the hashtag #RailSafety when promoting both group and individual observances of the week set aside for safety discussions.
MDOT will showcase a session next Monday morning, September 25th, at the Capital Area Multimodal Gateway at 1240 South Harrison Road in East Lansing and it is open to the public. On behalf of the safety awareness event, Senators Curtis Hertel, Andy Schor and Sam Singh will join MDOT Office of Rail Director Tim Hoeffner and others in kicking off the week. Also on hand will be Scott Wrigglesworth from the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, Jonathan Bondra a special agent for CN Railroad, and Sam Crowl representing Operation Lifesaver where he serves as State Coordinator. Other state and local officials are expected to be on hand along with law enforcement officers and reps from the railroads.
