Operation Clear Track: Working with police to save lives
Operation Lifesaver (OL) Canada is a small organization with a big goal—preventing railway crossing and trespassing incidents. But it’s a task that we can’t achieve alone. We depend on police and other law enforcement agencies across Canada to help us spread the rail safety message.
Operation Clear Track is one of the important ways that we partner with police to promote rail safety. Held during Rail Safety Week (September 18 – 24) every year, Operation Clear Track is the single largest rail-safety law enforcement initiative in North America. Taking place on September 19
th this year, its aim is to make people think about their behaviour around tracks and trains—and learn how to keep themselves safe.
During Operation Clear Track, police bring the rail safety message right to pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists by issuing warnings, writing citations, and distributing rail-safety pamphlets at rail crossings and along railway rights-of-way. They also help by spreading the rail-safety message through their social media channels.
Bringing the rail safety message directly to communities
“We’re very excited to once again be working with police and other law enforcement personnel to bring the rail safety message directly to Canadians through Operation Clear Track,” says Sarah Mayes, National Director of Operation Lifesaver Canada. “Preventing rail-related deaths and injuries in communities is a team effort—and police play an important part by raising awareness about the dangers of failing to comply with rail safety laws.”
Hundreds of police and sheriff departments across North America have signed up for Operation Clear Track again this year
—with 640 police organizations participating in Canada alone.
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 2023 in general, check out our
website. And let’s work together to stop needless track tragedies from happening—because we all have a part to play when it comes to rail safety!