Railway crossing fatalities down in December

2020 ended on a somewhat positive note—at least when it comes to railway crossing incidents. Not one person lost their life at a railway crossing in December. Unfortunately, two people were killed and another two were seriously injured as the result of trespassing on railway tracks.

Our goal is to eliminate all rail crossing and trespassing incidents through education and public awareness campaigns like #STOPTrackTragedies. But despite our efforts, Canadians continue to be seriously injured and to lose their lives.

Please follow these rail safety rules to ensure you don’t become another statistic:

• Stay off railway tracks. Remember, railway tracks are private property. Only cross tracks at designated crossings and obey all railway warning signs and signals.
• Never assume tracks are abandoned. Even if train tracks look like they’re not in use, it doesn’t mean they’re inactive. Often, tracks that have been deactivated can also be reactivated without warning.
• Don’t walk next to tracks or use railway rights-of-way as recreational paths. Trains can overhang the tracks by a metre on both sides; straps or other equipment may extend even further. If you’re in the right-of-way next to the tracks, you can be hit.
• Keep one ear out. You can’t avoid getting hit by a train if you can’t hear it coming. When wearing headphones, always keep one ear out near railway crossings.

For other tips on how to keep safe around railway crossings, tracks and trains, check out our resource page.  Make sure you and the people you love know the rail safety basics. It could save lives.