Safety First! Words To Live By

It’s a sad fact.

And an all together avoidable one.

Every day, people are killed by trespassing on railroad tracks.

As I write this today, several hours ago, a man in Ohio almost became one of those people.

All in an effort to capture an image. An image of the world’s largest steam locomotive, currently touring the nation as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations.

The very loud and distinctive steam whistle has been a signature of this adventure as it travels from coast to coast. It also serves as a warning to everyone trackside of the approaching train.

In this instance, the photographer chose to disregard that warning.

Luckily, the engineer, who is also the head of the Union Pacific Steam Program, had been expecting large crowds of non-railroad people along the route that the train is traveling. He was able to place the train brakes into an emergency application and bring the train safely to a full and complete stop.

What could have been a very graphic death in front of the large assembled crowd was prevented,

Yet, this story does not end with that.

Once the train had come to a full stop, he motioned to the photographer to come to the cab of the locomotive so he could speak further with him. He chose to severely admonish the photographer for his irresponsible behavior.

In a video of the incident, a response from the photographer was not audible.

The train continued on after the incident.

Regrettably, this type of incident has occurred on multiple occasions previously, with fatal and graphic results.

Each one completely avoidable.

I have many friends and acquaintances who have chosen professional careers where they were placed in situations – all completely avoidable – which resulted in a loss of human life. Regrettably, those who chose a railroad career are far too often placed in a situation upon which they have little or no control to prevent injury or loss of life. And they can carry the memories of such incidents for years afterwards. Some may do so for the rest of their lives.

All because someone chose to be in the wrong place – on the railroad tracks. Be it on foot, in a vehicle or otherwise, you do not belong on the tracks. Especially as a train is approaching.

Cross safely if you must, but as you would respecting a road crossing or intersection. The train always has the right of way. It cannot turn to avoid a collision nor can it stop immediately.

You can.

The railroads have a saying. One written, sadly, in blood.

Safety First.

It applies to everyone all the time.

For more information, please visit the Operation Lifesaver web pages. This is a national organization promoting safety around railroads, especially at crossings.