Paying homage to Canada’s rich railway history and a reminder to stay rail safe

By now you may have handled or seen Canada’s brand-spanking-new polymer $10 bill, which pays homage to our country’s extensive railway history with the illustration of the ceremonial last spike.

The railway’s great role in our history is one to be respected – and the best way you can do that is by making rail safety a priority. At Operation Lifesaver our mission is to educate the masses about train and rail safety by instilling in the minds of young and old that it is a never-ending, lifesaving lesson, and providing the resources to support this important message.

You can help us with this.

While we pay homage to the history of the railway and how it helped to build our country, let’s also recognize that it’s a great opportunity to talk with our family, friends and students about the importance of rail safety.

How to kick start the rail safety conversation

• Check out the wealth of information that is tailored specifically for kids on olkids.ca.
• Have some new or professional drivers in the family? Test their rail safety skill set with several of our online resources that are easily accessible.
• Do you have teens that need to cross the tracks while on their way to school? Give them a copy of our student handout to reference. It provides some teen-friendly rail safety lessons that your teens will appreciate and you'll be happy to share. 
• What about you? Are you looking to take a quick pulse check on your own rail safety knowledge base? Take the rail safety quiz to get the ball rolling.
• Finally, if you’re a teacher, consider making rail safety a fundamental component of your class curriculum. There are a ton of great and free online rail safety tools that are available with just a click of a button. And encourage your students to enter our Off the Rails contest, a contest that allows students ages 11-14 to craft a rail safety message directed at their peers. 

So next time you receive a shiny new $10 bill, please remember, all the $10 bills in the world aren’t worth your, or someone you love’s, life. Let’s all do our part to make lifesaving rail safety conversations a priority in our everyday lives.

Look! Listen! Live!

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="648"] Photo credit: bankofcanada.ca[/caption]