OC Sheriff participates in Operation Lifesaver Event

Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jimmy Watt represented the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, April 26 for the Norfolk-Southern/Operation Lifesaver Whistle-Stop Train event to promote railroad safety.  Over 100 individuals attended the event and participated in the train ride from the Greenville, South Carolina Amtrak Station on West Washington Street to the Amtrak Station on North Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. Norfolk Southern teamed up with Operation Lifesaver, the nationwide non-profit railroad safety organization, to help promote safety along railroads during a 10 city, six state, 814 mile campaign that began April 22^nd in New Orleans and concluded April 26^th in Greensboro, North Carolina.  The campaign stretched along sections of rail routes operated by Norfolk-Southern.  The goal was the promotion of highway rail and pedestrian safety in the hope of reducing accident and fatalities at the intersections of highways and rail crossings.  There are 199 railroad crossings between Greenville and Charlotte alone and Norfolk Southern operates about 30 trains per day over this route.  In South Carolina alone, there are over 2,100 railroad crossings.  Most individuals may not realize this, but a 100-car freight train traveling at 55 miles per hour requires more than a mile to stop, which is the equivalent to 18 football fields.  In addition, according to officials, the force of a train hitting a car is the equivalent of a car hitting a soda can.  According to information from Norfolk Southern and Operation Lifesaver for the year 2012, 270 people died and over 900 people were injured at the nation’s 160,000 public and private highway-rail grade crossings in the United States, while over 400 died and another 405 seriously injured while trespassing on railroad rights of way and property.   According to the same organizations, most of the accidents are due to motorists inattention, with over 50 percent of those crashes nationwide were due to drivers disregarding the flashing red lights at crossings or the gates that warn of approaching trains.  In the state of South Carolina, there have been 59 collisions at rail crossings, with 7 deaths and 24 injuries since 2012.  In addition, there have been four deaths and five injuries in trespassing incidents since 2012 in the Palmetto State.  In Oconee County, there have been no fatalities in railroad incidents this year, according to Coroner Karl Addis. Officials from Norfolk-Southern and Operation Lifesaver invited community leaders, law enforcement officials and other safety personnel to ride the train to learn more about safety involving railroads.  Live television monitors were installed inside the passenger cars to allow riders to see what conductors see from the locomotive cab when they are operating the train.  The train was made up of two locomotives, two passenger cars and an exhibit car, which is a mobile museum that contains among other things a locomotive simulator. Norfolk- Southern and Operation Lifesaver have several safety points they want to remind motorists and pedestrians in regards to railroad safety: never drive around lowered gates, it’s illegal and deadly; always expect a train, many trains do not follow set schedule of travel; trains have the right of way 100% of the time; watch for railroad signs and lights; only cross at marked railroad crossings and make sure to look both ways when you do; walk bicycles across looking both ways; listen for train whistles and bells; if your vehicle gets stuck on the tracks, get out and move away.  Railroad tracks, trestles, yards, and equipment are private property.  Walking and playing on them is illegal, and trespassers are subject to arrest and fines.  This can also be deadly as well.  Cross tracks only at designated pedestrian and roadway crossings. Never attempt to hop aboard railroad equipment. Do not walk, run, cycle, or operate all-terrain vehicles on railroads tracks, trestles, or through tunnels.