Working With The Railroad

See tracks? Think train!

That is the mantra Cheryl Dudley wants everyone to remember.

"About every three hours, a person or car is hit by a train," she said.

Dudley is the Arkansas executive director of Operation Lifesaver, an international organization devoted to safety around railroad tracks and trains.

"Operation Lifesaver's mission is to end collisions, deaths and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and on rail property through a nationwide network of volunteers who work to educate people about rail safety," reads the organization's mission on its website.

HITS ON THE ROAD

Bud Pulley, the chief managing officer for freight cars of the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, based in Springdale, leads the local railroad's education efforts. The railroad owns 60-plus crossings on public roads and even more on private roads such as driveways.

In addition to the A&M Railroad, which runs between Monett, Mo., and Fort Smith, the Kansas City Southern Railroad runs trains through western Benton County.

"The main problem is people don't pay attention to their surroundings," Pulley said. "They're going too fast trying to get to school. Maybe they're running late. It's carelessness."

"People like to hurry up to beat it," said Lt. Derek Hudson, public information officer for the Springdale Police Department. "When they see lights start flashing, some people always gun it" -- which is a traffic violation, he pointed out.

"We all get frustrated. We all have better things to do," Hudson admitted. "But it's one thing to hurry up to get through a yellow light and get hit by a car. It's no minor accident when you are hit by a train. It's well worth stopping and waiting."

While blinking lights and lowered arms signal an approaching train at the busiest road intersections, others have just a stop sign. Private crossings -- across the driveway of a home or business -- often have no signs or lights, Pulley reported.

At public crossings, law requires engineers to blow the locomotive's whistle -- two longs, a short and a long -- beginning as the train approaches the intersection until the locomotive has passed completely through the intersection, he said. Here, distractions such as cellphones, car stereos and headphones can silence the engineer's warning.

"We're all in such a hurry, we can't spare four to five minutes," said Keith Foster, public information officer for the Rogers Police Department. "Trains are really good at giving as much warning as they can. But they don't stop on a dime. If you get hit by a train, we're not going to blame the train."

A locomotive weighs between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds, Pulley reported. Behind it might be more heavy locomotives and maybe 100 loaded freight cars.

"Once an engineer sees you on a track, he goes into emergency mode to get it stopped," Pulley said. "Still, it takes a mile or more to stop a locomotive with the weight coming behind him."

To stop a 30-car train traveling 55 mph takes about the length of 18 football fields, Operation Lifesaver compared.

"The force of that 30-car train hitting your car is equal to the force of your car crushing an aluminum can," the organization offered another sobering statistic.

"You don't know how fast that train is coming," Dudley said. "When you look down the tracks, you think you have time. But by the time you think that, the train is already there.

"Optical illusion makes trains seem further away and slower than they actually are. It's like watching an airplane from the ground."

WALKING THE TRACKS

"Trespassing is a big issue," Pulley said.

Railroad tracks, yards, rights of way and equipment all are private property, he pointed out. Last year, 882 people were hurt or killed as they walked or played along railroad tracks and their narrow bridges.

In many places, the only clearance between the train and a rocky bluff, the woods, a building or the railing of the bridge is the ballast -- the rocks that build the bed for the ties and tracks. Rail cars measure three feet wider than the rails, Pulley pointed out.

"They don't need to be on railroad property except at existing highway crossings," he insisted.

The Federal Railroad Administration reports most incidents involve trespassers between the ages of 16 to 20. Walking on the tracks, laying things on the tracks and lying down on the tracks -- then hit by on-track equipment -- are the most common incidents.

Pedestrians can cross roads at the same places automobiles can, Pulley explained. Even then, pedestrians should be cautious.

"If you see a track, a train might be around," Dudley said.

"Kids use them as a shortcut home or to school. The school bus may drop them off at the tracks, and that's a quicker way home. They're putting their lives in jeopardy."

HARD FACTS

About every three hours, a person or vehicle is hit by a train somewhere in the world, according to Operation Lifesaver.

The Federal Railway Administration Office of Safety Analysis keeps statistics on casualty incidents and deaths on railways and posts them on the organization's website.

The charts showed fewer incidents in Arkansas as compared to other states, Dudley said. Perhaps because, when compared to other states, Arkansas has fewer operating lines -- 12, she said.

Only 37 rail-highway incidents with four deaths were recorded in 2013 for Arkansas as compared to 2,091 for the country, Dudley said. From January to May 2014, 22 incidents were recorded in Arkansas as compared to 12 for the same time last year. Trespassing incidents are down, however, with just four injuries recorded for the state this year and no fatalities in 2013 or 2014. Nationally, 882 incidents were recorded in 2013 and 366 for 2014. (The website did not list the number of deaths across the country.)

Springdale emergency service workers responded to the site of an incident just last spring in Johnson -- a crossing with no signs, Hudson said.

"The car was hit by the train, and, as I recall, the car was flipped several times, but, luckily, no one was hurt," he said.

"We tend to get (a railroad-civilian incident) every couple of months, but most tend to be nonfatalities," Foster reported.

Despite the seemingly low numbers, "It's something we need to keep out in front of the public," Pulley said.

"Every railroad in the country has the same problems," he added.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Pulley presents age-appropriate railroad safety classes developed by Operation Lifesaver to area schools, and he's also spoken to professional truck drivers, public safety operators and -- just last week -- school bus drivers. His programs are free and available for individual classrooms, civic groups and more.

"If they are willing to let me come in and teach a class, I'll be there," Pulley said.

Despite heavy pedestrian traffic where the A&M crosses the popular college watering hole Dickson Street in Fayetteville, the police department there has not recorded any pedestrian incidents in several years -- since the trail system which parallels the track was installed, giving revelers a place to walk.

"They'd rather walk on a flat trail than the rails," said Sgt. Craig Stout of the Fayetteville Police Department.

"As we go back to school, drivers should be aware that school buses have to stop at railroad crossings. Drivers should anticipate this stop," said Carol Steckbeck, a national spokesman for Operation Lifesaver.

A school bus driver must stop the bus before the tracks, must open the door of the bus and take long looks down the tracks in both ways.

Pulley suggested all drivers also be aware of their surroundings and take their own long looks before crossing the tracks.