Michigan officials are asking residents to take precautions around railroad tracks.
According to the organization Operation Lifesaver, every three hours, a train hits a person or vehicle in the U.S. The non-profit is supporting an informational campaign this week to promote safety around trains.
Curtis Stewart, the group’s state coordinator for Michigan, says it’s dangerous for people to idle on train tracks—and that injuries and fatalities on tracks are preventable.
"These four feet, eight-and-a-half inches are the most dangerous place you can be when a train is coming, because it takes a mile for a train to stop going 50 miles an hour," he said.
According to the organization, more than 2,300 people are injured or killed each year in incidents involving railroad crossings. In 2022, there were 55 collisions at rail crossings in Michigan, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. That was a decrease from the 63 collisions that occurred in 2021.
Stewart said people should stay behind railroad crossing gates and avoid trespassing on the tracks. He said every crossing should also have blue sign with a 1-800 phone number to call if someone is stuck at a crossing or if there’s any other emergency.
For individuals waiting a passenger train such as Amtrak, Stewart said they should stand behind the yellow line on the platform.
"Going beyond that is actually trespassing, and it's dangerous," he said. "When you have little ones with you, when you board a train and it's the high platform, make sure you have their hand, because they can slip between the car and the platform."
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and Democratic State Representative Emily Dievendorf attended a Monday press conference promoting rail safety.
"We want more trains in Michigan," Dievendorf said. "Most of our accidents occur around tracks that absolutely already have signals, already have signage, and that means that it is up to us. It is our responsibility to make sure that all of our Michigan residents are educated on precautions that we can take in order to make sure that that train tracks remain something that we really love, that signify our access to each other, and that are not something that put us in danger."
