Operation Lifesaver President, Vice President Describe Innovations in Rail Safety Education
See the release online: http://bit.ly/1gs7Dco
FORT WORTH, Tex. — Through its traditional outreach methods – presentations and special events – rail safety nonprofit Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), annually teaches roughly 2.7 million people about the importance of crossing railroad tracks safely and avoiding trespassing on railroad tracks. However, freight, passenger and transit rail traffic is growing, and with the growing tide of distracted behavior thanks to mobile electronic devices, the mandate to reach, and reteach, more people is evident.
That’s what OLI President and CEO Joyce Rose told attendees of the 2013 National Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Training Conference, an event sponsored by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. More than 200 rail safety educators from government, industry and the nonprofit world gathered in Ft. Worth, Tex. Nov. 3-6, to share ideas about improving rail crossing safety, discuss national efforts to reduce crossing collisions and fatalities, review legislation and learn from collaborative efforts aimed at innovating public safety and awareness.
Speaking on a panel of international rail safety experts, Rose told attendees that OLI is turning to new tools to broaden its reach to different audiences.
“Technology has greatly changed the way that people access information, and we’re taking advantage of it,” said Rose. “Online communication and social media have become vitally important outreach tools for Operation Lifesaver. The organization’s online presence has been growing significantly, and we’re able to put our key safety messages right in front of people we might not have reached before.”
The need for advancing communications is spelled out in data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on crossing collisions and fatalities among drivers and pedestrians.
“In the first six months of this year, total crossing collisions are up 4.5 percent over the same period in 2012. Trespass deaths rose 25 percent,” Rose said. “It is impossible to predict whether, by the end of 2013, the total number of crossing collisions will be lower than in 2012 – consistent with the overall trend – or whether trespass casualties will continue to go up. However, it is clear that Operation Lifesaver and other safety partners have more work to do.”
Highway-rail crossing and trespasser deaths account for 95 percent of all rail-related deaths in the United States, according to the FRA.
OLI Vice President Wende Corcoran, who manages the organization’s education and professional training activities, led a session on how the organization is also adapting the way it recruits and manages volunteers and the way it teaches law enforcement, first responders and professional drivers about grade crossing safety.
The bulk of presentations by OLI are conducted by volunteers in communities around the country. OLI is moving its training to an online system to allow more people to join, and the organization is placing the materials that volunteers use online so that its key safety messages are accessible and transparent to everyone.
In addition, OLI is expanding its educational offerings to add more e-learning. This allows law enforcement, truck drivers and other target professionals to learn rail safety in the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace. Last month, OLI provided a sneak peek at a new e-learning program for school bus drivers. The program places participants in the driver’s seat and takes them through different driving scenarios around railroad tracks. It’s due out in January 2014. Pro-Driver Challenge is a similar program for professional drivers.
About Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
Operation Lifesaver's mission is to end collisions, deaths and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and along railroad rights of way. A national network of trained volunteers provides free presentations on rail safety. Learn more at www.oli.org; follow OLI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Tweetables!
.@olnational President, VP talk #railcrossingsafety education at @TTI Conference http://bit.ly/1dO0Fe9
@olinational turning to social media and e-learning to educate public on grade crossing safety. http://bit.ly/1dO0Fe9
Highway-rail crossing and trespasser deaths account for 95 percent of all rail-related deaths. http://bit.ly/1dO0Fe9
Contacts: DEQUENDRE BERTRAND - 703-739-0284 - NEWS@OLI.ORG
CAROL STECKBECK - 919-303-5140
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