Operation Clear Track: working with police to #STOPTrackTragedies

Preventing rail tragedies is a team effort, and police are an important part of that team. Operation Lifesaver (OL) Canada depends on law enforcement agencies to help spread the rail safety message in an effort to prevent tragedies and save lives. Operation Clear Track is one of the ways that OL works with law enforcement agencies to do just that.

Held every year during Rail Safety Week, Operation Clear Track is the single largest rail-safety law enforcement initiative in North America. Taking place this year on September 20^th, its aim is to encourage people to think twice before engaging in unsafe behaviours around tracks and trains, and to learn to keep themselves safe.
 
Bringing the rail safety message directly to communities
 
During Operation Clear Track, police are typically stationed at hundreds of railway crossings across Canada, where they issue warnings, write citations, and distribute pamphlets with rail-safety tips to pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. Although the pandemic prevented some law enforcement agencies from bringing the rail safety message directly to the public over the past two years, this year they’ll have the choice to engage in face-to-face outreach, or to spread the word on social media. 
 
“Raising public awareness about the dangers of failing to comply with rail safety laws is critical to preventing rail-related deaths and injuries in communities,” says Sarah Mayes, National Director of Operation Lifesaver Canada. “We’re very excited to once again be working with police through Operation Clear Track, to bring the rail safety message directly to Canadians.”
 
Working with police across North America to save lives
 
Hundreds of police and sheriff departments across North America have signed up for Operation Clear Track this year—with 400 police departments participating in Canada alone. Whether police are speaking face-to-face with drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians, or spreading the rail-safety message through their social media channels, their efforts will go a long way towards raising awareness—and saving lives.
 
So, keep an eye out for Operation Clear Track events in your community this week. For more information about the initiative, or Rail Safety Week 2022 in general, check out our website. Let’s work together to stop needless tragedies from happening—because we all have a part to play when it comes to rail safety!