Operation Lifesaver, the national public safety program that already has an excellent track record of reducing fatalities and injuries from level crossing collisions and trespassing incidents, is working hard to reduce crossing collisions and trespassing incidents.

The program helped reduce highway/railway crossing collisions by more than 60 per cent over the past 20 years. National Director Dan Di Tota says: "We're not resting on our laurels, though, because such collisions are preventable. We are very active in Direction 2006 - a public-private initiative in cooperation with Transport Canada and others which will help reduce trespassing and highway/railway crossing deaths and injuries another 50 per cent by the end of the year 2006."

"We would like to see the habit of approaching crossings with extreme caution become as much a part of driver safety as the habit of putting on your seat belts," he said.

The race to beat the train is a deadly sport. "Trains can't stop quickly; they require the length of 14 football fields. And they certainly can't swerve to avoid a collision. To a large degree, it is in the hands of drivers to save their own lives, and those of their family and friends," said Mr. Di Tota.

Many collisions are caused by drivers underestimating the speed of a train and trying to cross the tracks ahead of it. Large objects, such as a jumbo jet coming in for a landing, always appear to be moving slower than they are. How much slower? "Five times," says Mr. Di Tota. "If you see a train and you think is going 20 kilometres an hour, it's actually going l00."

Another ratio every driver should know is 4,000 to one. That is the relative weight of a train to that of an automobile. Thus a train hitting a car is like a car hitting a soft drink can. "That's why I keep telling people, you might get hit by another car or a truck and survive, but not by a train," Mr. Di Tota says.

He emphasizes that this can happen on any crossing, any time. "Familiarity breeds complacency." He cites the fact that the majority of level crossing collisions take place within 40 kilometres of drivers' homes.

People who cross the same tracks every day are lulled into the belief that they know precisely when trains arrive at a crossing. But trains can be late or early. And a special, extra or rescheduled train could be rolling down the track. It all comes down to the exhortation, "Look, Listen and Live." The listening part has become more important as technology has made trains quieter.

Many drivers are unaware that the familiar four-blast train whistle is blown to tell them to stop immediately on coming to a crossing. As with the speed of trains, people can be deceived by their whistles, which may sound farther away than they actually are.

"Adults must also understand, and teach their children, why railway property is dangerous and that it is off limits," said Mr. Di Tota. "Though it may be tempting to use railway tracks and yards as a short cut, it is very dangerous, and illegal too."

A person found guilty of trespassing on railway property can face a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both. The rules apply not only to pedestrians but also to bicyclists, all-terrain vehicle operators, trail bikers and cross-country skiers.

Crossing collisions and trespasser incidents resulted in 96 fatalities in 2001, a 12 per cent increase compared to 2000, due mainly to a 24 per cent increase in crossing-related fatalities that were up from 33 in 2000 to 41 in 2001. Serious injuries as a result of crossing collisions and trespasser incidents increased to 69 in 2001 from 56 in 2000.

There were 279 crossing collisions in 2001, up from 264 in 2000 but below the five-year average of 298. Trespasser incidents totalled 79 in 2001, equal to 2000's figure but lower than the five-year average of 95, according to Transportation Safety Board of Canada results.

In virtually every case, however, the collision/incident was caused by drivers, or pedestrians, who put themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The steady improvement was largely the result of a vigorous enforcement and public information campaign.

The number killed and injured along Canada's railway tracks last year was a fraction of the 3,000 killed and 240,000 injured in highway accidents in Canada each year. "But it was 100 per cent of those victims' lives and associated suffering," said Mr. Di Tota. "Level crossing collisions are at least as much a highway safety issue as a railway one because their prevention depends so much on safer driving habits and practices."

The majority of such collisions occur at crossings equipped with warning devices and in about one-third of them, it is the vehicle that strikes the side of the train. Many side-on collisions occur at night and involve motor vehicles that are moving faster than their lights can illuminate the road -- "over-driving their headlights," as the Operation Lifesaver people call it. But, in general, 75 per cent of crossing collisions take place in broad daylight with good visibility.

A veteran railroader and locomotive engineer, Mr. Di Tota remains amazed at the chances drivers will take at crossings. They will "race" trains to them, scoot under barrier arms as they are coming down, and burst ahead in defiance of warning signals as soon as one train has passed, only to be struck by another train on a second track coming in the opposite direction.

They will stop on the tracks in traffic line-ups instead of halting clear of the crossing, and cross over without making sure another car is not blocking the other side.

Mr. Di Tota reserves a special wonder for those who veer around lowered barrier gates. "There was a case where a woman pulled out from behind five cars that were stopped and went roaring around the barrier," he recounts. "She was just in time to get killed by the oncoming train."

Operation Lifesaver's active educational program includes the production and distribution of printed material in schools, for driver education, media relations and public presentations across the country.

More than 500 presenters from all walks of life help tell the Operation Lifesaver public safety story. Virtually all of them have had experience with crossing collisions, such as police officers, railroaders who have known the horror of fatal crashes, and people who have been badly injured in such collisions.

Operation Lifesaver has been particularly successful with its 'Officer On The Train' and 'Near Miss' programs. The first involves having an officer from a local police department observing level crossings from the cab of a locomotive making its usual run. The officer is in touch by radio with colleagues in police cruisers, who track down the violators observed from the train, and issue either cautions or tickets, as warranted.

Key to the success of the program has been the active support of local police departments. The task is complex though. On one run, between Toronto and London, Ont., it involved making arrangements with 15 separate police departments with jurisdiction along the line.

One officer recorded 25 traffic violations on a 21-mile run. Another logged six separate violators at a single level crossing. Some drivers were given a warning. Others were fined up to $132 and had three points added to their driving record.

The Near Miss program involves railway employees who radio to dispatchers the license numbers and descriptions of vehicles being driven dangerously at level crossings. The information is forwarded by railway police to local police so offenders can be tracked down, and appropriate action taken.

Railway police charge drivers with railway crossing violations and lay charges for trespassing on railway property. The police are active on the public education front as well. They carry the safety message to more than 1.4 million Canadians each year through visits to schools, service groups and mall displays.

They also train municipal, provincial and federal police officers and supply them with information kits so they can carry the railway industry's safety message to the public too. The objective is simple and direct - to save lives along Canada's railway tracks.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers' union and its members are particularly active in the program. They recognize careless drivers as a hazard to railway employees, and encourage their members to go on local radio and television programs to make the public aware of the problem. For example, one locomotive engineer in Ontario visited more than 15,000 students in the Brockville/Kingston area to educate them on railway safety.

"The Railway Association of Canada's 55 member railways share a common commitment to safe operations and are among the safest in North America", said Mr. Di Tota. There are a number of reasons for that performance. Continuous welded rail and roller bearings on freight car axles require less maintenance, and better metallurgy has resulted in longer rail life.

Rail, laid in strings one-third of a kilometre long and welded into lengths up to 16 km., is laid on more of the main and secondary-main track. To monitor the condition of the track structure, the railways have introduced sophisticated track evaluation cars that use state-of-the-art ultrasonic sensing and computer technology that inspects the track under simulated load conditions.

Centralized traffic control and electronic safety monitoring devices also help make railways safer. Trackside heat detectors, for example, scan the axles of passing trains for overheated bearings that can cause derailments.

"These technical enhancements, and better-trained employees, continue to improve the railways' outstanding safety records", said Mr. Di Tota. "The industry takes seriously its responsibility to the communities where they operate and to customers who demand damage-free, reliable delivery of their traffic".

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