Operation Lifesaver offers drivers advice on safety at rail crossings

Superior Morning3:56Operation Lifesaver

Slow down, keep your eyes and ears open and stay vigilant.That's the advice from the national director of a group dedicated to educating people about rail safety.

Drivers and pedestrians need to exercise caution, at all times, around rail crossings says the national director of Operation Lifesaver, a Canadian not-for-profit group dedicated to educating the public on the issue.

"You always have to remain vigilant," said Mike Regimbal, noting the message on the group's website is "Look, listen, live."

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In 2015, there were 164 incidents of contact with trains, and in about 20 per cent of those cases the vehicle actually ran intothe train, said Regimbal.

To him, those numbers suggest distracted drivers who may have missed the warning signs, or the flashing lights and bells.

'Be prepared to stop'

"All trains are not scheduled, so they run when they're able to run, so just because you haven't seen one at a certain time of day, or on a certain day of the week doesn't mean there won't be one there tonight," said Regimbal.

The key to a safe crossing is to "always be prepared to stop,"because the train probably can't.

"The locomotive engineer running the train, as soon as he initiates the brake application, the emergency brake, like slamming on the car brakes, chances are it's going to take him a good kilometre-and-a-half to stop," said Regimbal.

Train crossings are risky

Ideally, all crossings would have four-quadrant gates which prevent any access to the tracks once the gates have dropped, but that is too expensive he said, noting there are more than 17,000 rail crossings in Canada.

Instead, governments, rail companies and municipalities annually assess the risk at crossings, and then decide which ones to upgrade, based on available funding, he said.

"If they just have a crossbuck maybe the next step is to put in the flashing lights and the bells or go the full gamut and add the crossing gates," Regimbal said.

In the meantime, "you need to be aware you're approaching a crossing, you have to expect a train at any time from any direction.So you have to follow your visual cues when you approach any risky area and crossings with trains are risky."