| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Ron Zellar |
| September 16, 2005 | (406) 444-3144 TTY (406) 444-4687 |
(Editors Note: This opinion column by Nancy K. Peterson, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture, is intended for National Farm Safety Week, September 18-24.)
Good 'Senses' Required at Railroad Crossings
By Nancy K. Peterson
"Stop, Look and Listen" was drilled into those of us who were raised in rural Montana. Ungated railroad crossings are dangerous and should always be approached with caution. But the admonition bears repeating in an age of multi-tasking and noisy or soundproof vehicles. Frankly, some of us don't see or hear as well as we once did, either.
Earlier this month, a combine was destroyed near Minot, North Dakota, when it was hit by a freight train. Fortunately, no one was killed. Last year, an 8-year-old girl was killed in Idaho when the hay wagon on which she was riding was hit by a train.
National Farm Safety Week, September 18-24, is a good time for a refresher course on railroad crossing safety.
Montana has about 1,500 private railroad crossings. Many of them provide access to farm fields. Last year there were five fatal accidents in the state involving trains and people, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Two state workers died when their vehicle was struck while parked to evaluate a highway land purchase. Closed windows and noise from an air conditioner may have prevented them from hearing the approaching train. A Billings-area truck driver died at a crossing when he drove into the path of a moving train.
As a Highline farmer and a former Amtrak ticket agent, I am well aware of the dangers at rail crossings. Farm equipment has grown larger. Tractors and other machinery come standard with stereo sound systems and soundproof cabs. The economics of farming requires that more acres be managed in fewer days. More operators work outside jobs, which taxes their ability to stay alert at busy times of year and certainly pushes them to work quickly to finish the task at hand.
In the face of all these changes, new admonitions are in order regarding trains. Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit educational organization, offers these tips for crossing railroad tracks safely:
1) Stop no closer than 15 feet from the nearest
rail. Many accidents occur in dual-track settings
at which one train waits while another passes in
the opposite direction. Trains overhang the rails
by three feet on both sides.
2) While stopped, look carefully in each direction
for approaching trains, moving head and eyes to
see around obstructions such as mirrors, windshield
pillars and passengers.
3) To better hear the train, open machinery cab
windows, turn off radios and fans, and remove headphones.
4) Make sure that the farm machinery is properly
aligned at farm-rail crossings to ensure safe passage
over the train tracks.
It may be difficult to see both directions when turning onto a railroad crossing when a rail line runs parallel to the main road. Crossings that are raised or "humped" may make it difficult to see beyond the tracks, and could cause low-clearance vehicles to become stuck.
Transportation accidents of all kinds last year
accounted for two-thirds of the 39 deaths from occupational
injuries in Montana, according to an annual report
by the Department of Labor and Industry's Workforce
Services Division.
Stop, Look and Listen remains a perfectly good method
for assessing danger when crossing railroad tracks.
It simply requires a little extra time and effort
to see and hear clearly in our busy, distracted,
multi-tasking world.
(Nancy K. Peterson is director of the Montana
Department of Agriculture)
