NS Revives Grade Crossing Safety Campaign

During Rail Safety Week Norfolk Southern revived a public awareness campaign about its Waze mobile application that seeks to warn motorists approaching grade crossings.

NS uses the Waze app to provide specific safety tips.

“This partnership [with Waze] gives us a chance to reach people that may not otherwise receive these safety messages, and with 30 million Waze users in the United States alone, that is powerful,” said Jason Morris, the NS assistant vice president of safety and environmental.

The NS campaign will provide safety information when motorists approach crossings that have a high number of crossing incidents.

Motorists will see advertisements in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio.

NS implemented a similar campaign in 2019 using Waze and said in a news release that areas targeted last year experienced a drop in grade crossing incidents.

The latest NS campaign began in mid-September in advance of National Rail Safety Week (Sept. 21-27).

Mexico Joins Rail Safety Week 2020

Rail Safety Week will observed this year in the United States, Canada and Mexico between Sept. 21-27.

It will be the first time that the Asociación Mexicana de Ferrocarriles (Mexican Association of Railroads—AMF) will join its U.S. and Canadian counterparts.

The week is designed to support the public awareness initiative to encourage drivers and pedestrians to practice safe behavior near railroad tracks.

OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh said digital and downloadable versions of a report detailing results of the U.S. 2019 Rail Safety Week efforts are now available.

A centerpiece of Rail Safety Week since 2018 is the #STOPTrackTragedies campaign, which features videos telling the stories of people affected by rail crossing and trespassing incidents.

“Our 2020 Rail Safety Week efforts will be led by state coordinators across the U.S. to highlight crossing safety and rail trespass prevention in high-incident areas,” said Maleh.

“We’re excited to coordinate with Operation Lifesaver Canada and now, the AMF, through events, social media, news media outreach and paid marketing efforts.”

U.S., Canada OLI To Observe Rail Safety Week

The Operation Lifesaver organizations of the United States and Canada are planning to conduct a joint Rail Safety Week this year, Sept. 23 to 29.

Canada has observed Rail Safety Week in April for the past 15 years while its U.S. counterpart held its first Rail Safety Week in 2017.

“By aligning our dates with those of the U.S., we’re ensuring a more coordinated — and hopefully impactful — North American rail-safety campaign,” said Sarah Mayes, national director of Operation Lifesaver Canada.

In the United States, Operation Lifesaver works with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the railroad industry, state Operation Lifesaver programs and other state and local safety partners on an awareness campaign, local events and distribution of safety tips to pedestrians, drivers, transit riders and passenger-rail users throughout the week.

OLS Plans Safety Week in September

Operation Lifesaver plans to conduct a national rail safety week starting on Sept. 24.

OLS CEO Bonnie Murphy said the week will be used to raise awareness and empower the public to be safe near railroad tracks and grade crossings.

The railroad safety group is working with the Federal Railroad Administration, other federal, state, and local agencies as well as railroads and safety-minded organizations to attend local events and distribute safety literature to the public.