WALLINGFORD, Conn. — Monday kicks off a week of life-saving initiatives for practicing train rail safety. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) is hosting its Rail Safety Week with Operation Lifesavers, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and police.
"The main reason for deaths on our rails is lack of care on part of drivers and pedestrians," Blumenthal said.
Below is a list of safety initiatives and what days Rail Safety Week will cover them:
- Monday, 9/18 - #STOPTrackTragedies
- Tuesday, 9/19 - Operation Clear Track: Law Enforcement, First Responder Partnerships
- Wednesday, 9/20 - Crossing Safety
- Thursday, 9/21 - Transit Safety Thursday & Professional Driver Safety
- Friday, 9/22 - Volunteer to #STOPTrackTragedies & Wear Red for Rail Safety
- Saturday, 9/23 - Trespass Prevention
- Sunday, 9/24 - No Photo/Video/Selfie is Worth the Risk
The goal of Rail Safety Week is to make people aware of how to stay safe around train tracks while making an effort to reduce railroad crashes, injuries, and deaths.
“If you see track, think train,” said Kevin Burns, with CT DOT in the office of rails. “Every three hours a person or vehicle is hit by a train in the U.S. so we want to make sure we can prevent train tragedies by telling people, hey you need to stay off the rails and be careful at the crossings.”
“You want to obey the signals at the crossing but you want to stay off the tracks. It’s not only dangerous, but it’s illegal. It’s trespassing, stay off the tracks,” Burns added.
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