Utah Rail Safety week will begin Sunday, September 12th! This is a statewide effort to educate drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and scooterists about the importance of railroad crossing safety.
Although rail crossing incidents and fatalities have been on the decline for decades, the number of drivers going around gates at railroad crossings has spiked in recent years. In 2018, 99 people were killed because a driver went around a lowered gate, marking a 10-year high. Overall in 2018, 270 people were killed at railroad crossings, contributing a five year total of 798 fatalities involving motor vehicles at railroad crossings.
These deaths are avoidable.
Many drivers do not yield to signs, lights, and crossing because they underestimate the risk — they think they can beat a train. They can’t. FrontRunner is running 55-75 miles per hour and can take up to one mile to stop. TRAX can also get up to 65 miles per hour in certain areas.
Follow these simple rules when driving near railroad tracks and trains.