HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — About two dozen people, officials from area police agencies, the City of Holland, Amtrak and Max Transit gathered among passengers at the Padnos Transportation Center to talk about rail-traffic safety.
Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Kempker spent much of his career investigating fatal crashes, including those at rail crossings.
He noted that every rail crossing has a number, but “many of those crossings have some names assigned to them: People that have lost their lives at those crossings.”
More people die in collisions with trains than in commercial airline crashes, according to National Safety Council statistics. Among the 4,000 collision where road traffic crosses railroad tracks crashes across the US cost nearly 500 lives and cause 1,500 serious injuries.
“I always say what’s predictable is preventable and that’s exactly what can happen at a railroad crossing. Each on of those crashes that I’ve taken over the years” Kempker said, recalling crash scene sites he spotted on his drive to the Amtrak station Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. “Each one of those were preventable crashes.”
So far this year in Michigan alone, 19 traffic-railroad crashes have been investigated, with five injuries documented, according to Michigan Operation Lifesaver statistics. In all of 2020, only 18 such crashes happened, with 11 documented injuries.
In areas when people have trespassed onto railroad tracks, two people have been injured so far this year but no deaths were reported. Last year’s total was one trespass-related death and four injuries, according to Michigan Operation Lifesaver.
Michigan Operation Lifesaver aims to prevent traffic-railroad crashes and completely eliminate trespass-related deaths and injuries, using education, engineering, and enforcement, according to the group’s website: oli.org. The press conference organized for Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, as part of Rail Safety Week, Sept. 20-26, 2021, which is observed in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
RiLi Right Rail Inc. President Richard Burn, a Holland resident and retired U.S. Navy officer, said he supports safety events as a railroad fan. Early in his career, he worked as a railroad fireman.
Holland resident and Ottawa County District 3 Commissioner Doug Zylstra traveled between Holland and Chicago for 10 years on a weekly basis.
He didn’t get into specifics, but said he recalls some rail-related tragedies.
“Any way to keep bad things from happening is a good thing,” he said.
Michigan Operation Lifesaver shares these safety tips every driver, motorcyclist, bicyclist, pedestrians and others should know:
- Never drive around lowered gates – it’s illegal and deadly. If you suspect a signal is malfunctioning, call the 1-800-number posted on or near the crossing signal or your local law enforcement agency
- Never race a train to the crossing. Safety officials say, “Even if you tie, you lose.”
- Do not get trapped on the tracks. Never drive onto a railroad crossing until you are sure you can clear the tracks on the other side without stopping. Remember, the train is three feet wider than the tracks on both sides.
- Drivers whose vehicles stall on crossings should immediately get everyone out and far away from the tracks. People should move away from the tracks in the direction from which the train is approaching. Call 911 for help, after getting to a safe spot.
- At a multiple track crossing, when waiting for a train to pass, always watch out for a second train on the other track, approaching in either direction.
- Be aware that trains cannot stop quickly. Even if the locomotive engineer sees you, a freight train moving at 55 mph can take a mile or more to stop once the emergency brakes are applied. That’s at least 18 football fields.
- Do not be fooled by the optical illusion-the train you see is closer and faster moving than you think! If you see a train approaching, always wait for it to go by before you proceed across the tracks.
- On hikes and outings, remember that railroad property is private property. Walking or hiking on the railroad tracks is trespassing, a criminal offense. Each year nearly 500 people die and hundreds more are injured while trespassing on railroad property.
- Always expect a train. Freight trains do not follow set schedules.
