Watonwan County Public Works Director, Roger Risser, wants people to exercise caution when walking near or across railroad tracks. Risser sent the following press release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and asked that it be published in our paper. Mary Ann Hillyer, MN/DOT (Office of Communications) writes the following article.
“Two people killed while walking on or across railroad tracks in Minnesota in the last two days raises the number of 2009 railroad/pedestrian fatalities to 11, which has prompted the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota Operation Lifesaver to issue a safety alert.
‘This is the highest number of pedestrian/rail fatalities in 10 years,’ said Donna Naumann, Executive Director, Minnesota Operation Lifesaver. ‘We urge people to pay increased attention to the dangers of walking on or near railroad tracks.’
There were five rail/pedestrian fatalities in Minnesota in 2008.
A 51-year-old man was killed early Monday morning near Winona State University when he fell into the path of an oncoming Soo Line train.
A 24-year-old-man was struck and killed by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train at a railroad crossing west of Litchfield. The train sounded its whistle prior to the accident, but the victim may have been wearing headphones at the time.
‘It is easy to misjudge a train’s speed and its distance, especially at night,’Naumann said. ‘It can take a mile or more for a freight train moving at 55 miles an hour to stop after the engineer hits the brakes.’
Walking on railroad tracks in Minnesota is considered trespassing. Anyone who violates this law is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a penalty.
‘A 2008 law passed makes it illegal to trespass on railroad tracks or railroad property,’ said William Gardner, MN/DOT’s director of Freight, Rail and Waterways. ‘This law adds an extra measure of safety in urban areas where there are many new light transit and commuter rails. We encourage people throughout Minnesota to remember the danger posed by railroad tracks.”
Pedestrians should follow these railroad safety tips:
• Walking, hunting, fishing or riding ATV’s on tracks is trespassing and dangerous
• Vibration of rails is not always an indication of an oncoming train
• Check before crossing for trains moving in different directions on multiple tracks
• Do not throw or place objects onto railroad tracks--they can cause derailment
• Stay three or four feet away from railroad tracks-rail cars are wider than tracks
There are 4,480 miles of railroad tracks and 4,362 railroad crossings in Minnesota. Only 30 percent of thos public crossings have active warning devices.
‘Expect that anytime is train time, even in locations where trains are infrequent,’ says Gardner. ‘Stay alert for trains when approaching railroad tracks and limit distractions such as cell phones, headphones and music listening devices.’
The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota Operation Lifesaver encourages pedestrians to ‘Look, Listen...and Live.’
For more information on railroad crossing safety, visit the Operation Lifesaver, Inc., Web site at http://www.oli.org.
St. James, MN —
