SELLERSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Gov. Eric Holcomb declared this week Indiana Rail Safety Week in hopes of spreading awareness and saving lives.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, Indiana ranks sixth in the nation for railroad crossing collisions. In 2017, 101 accidents were reported, resulting in 47 injuries and 12 deaths. There were also 10 pedestrians killed and nine injured last year.
Of those statistics, five train-vehicle collisions were reported in Clark County, which resulted in three deaths and four injuries. None were reported in Floyd, Jackson or Scott Counties.
As part of Indiana Rail Safety Week, Indiana State Police will team up with railroad companies, Indiana Department of Transportation and Indiana Operation Lifesaver to post extra warning signs near historically dangerous crossings. The signs read "See Tracks? Think Train."
ISP Sgt. Jerry Goodin hopes it will remind everyone to slow down and take a second look.
“In a car-train crash, the train always wins,” Goodin said. “To us, it’s kind of perplexing how somebody could not see something as big as a train coming at them.”
Goodin said it boils down to three main reasons why people are ignoring railroad crossings: complacency, distractions and being in a hurry.
“People will cross railroad tracks so many times, they never see a train, they never hear a train. Nothing happens," Goodin said. "And then all of a sudden, the odds run out on them.”
Goodin said some of the most risky intersections are those without a crossing arm or flashing lights. Drivers regularly do not stop at the railroad crossings with only a stop sign or white marker, because many times, they don’t see it or simply forget it’s there.
“We got so many people who are texting and driving,” Goodin said. “So many people who are talking on their phones and not paying attention when they come up to these railroad crossings. And in bad instances, they’re crossing tracks, and it’s causing crashes, because they don’t look when they’re in a hurry. Or they try to beat a train.”
Whether it’s Rail Safety Week or any other day of the year, Goodin wanted to give a fair warning to all drivers.
“If you get caught going around railroad traffic arms, you will get a ticket,” he said. “That’s one thing we are very unforgiving on. You will get a ticket if you go around the dropped railroad arms.”
Depending which county you are in, driving through a railroad crossing when the traffic arm is lowered could result in a ticket and minimum fine of $150.
During this week, leaders also hope to remind everyone that walking along train tracks is against the law, and you can be arrested and charged for trespassing. There are not as many train-pedestrian accidents in Indiana as there are vehicle crashes. However, 10 pedestrians were killed and nine injured in 2017.
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