By Staff
Operation Lifesaver and CSX officials were in town yesterday passing out information concerning safety at railroad crossings. Their presence is appreciated and needed.
CSC Safety Supervisor Bob Martin said two collisions between trains and vehicles have happened at the main crossing in downtown Brewton so far this year.
Apparently education about railroad crossings is needed here. One collision is too many.
When you consider trains weigh 12 million pounds and take more than a mile to come to a stop, collisions are hard to stop when you're the conductor of the train.
Nancy Hudson, with Operation Lifesaver, said distracted drivers are the main cause of collisions of this kind.
Alabama ranks eighth in the nation in highway-rail grade crossing collisions with 104 reported during 2007. Our state also ranks in the top ten in the nation for fatalities at highway-rail grade crossing accidents. Reports from 2007 statistics show 15 people lost their lives as a result of collision.
We applaud the efforts of CSX, Operation Lifesaver and Brewton Police Department for their efforts toward eliminating crossing accidents in Brewton and across the state and nation.
Tips provided during the downtown roadblock included: