Colorado Operation Lifesaver
About CO OL
What is Colorado Operation Lifesaver?
Colorado Operation Lifesaver (CO OL) is a nonprofit public safety education and awareness organization dedicated to reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and trespassing on or near railroad tracks. OL promotes rail safety through public awareness campaigns and education initiatives, including free safety presentations by authorized volunteers. We speak to school groups, driver education classes, community audiences, professional drivers, law enforcement officers, emergency responders, and others. Our program is co-sponsored by state and local government agencies, highway safety organizations, America's railroads, and other entities. Together we promote the three E's - education, enforcement and engineering - to keep people safe around the tracks and railway crossings within our communities. Colorado OL is part of a national nonprofit program known as Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI). 
Why is Operation Lifesaver Needed?
Sadly, every year people in Colorado are killed or injured at highway-rail crossings and at other locations along railroad tracks.
Many people are unaware that trains cannot stop quickly to avoid collisions; or, they take chances by ignoring warning signs and signals, going around lowered gates, stopping on tracks, or simply not paying attention when approaching highway-rail crossings. People also make the potentially fatal mistake of choosing railroad tracks as shortcuts or as places to walk or run for recreation. They may not realize that walking on train tracks is illegal, or understand how quickly and quietly a train can approach. Our safety tips can save your life – or the life of someone you love.
CO OL Safety Partners
BNSF Railway
Colorado Department of Education
Colorado Dept. of Regulatory Agencies
Colorado Department of Transportation
Denver RTD
Federal Railroad Administration
Fort Collins Office of Emergency Management
OmniTrax
Union Pacific Railroad
United States Truck Driving School, Inc.
CO OL Statistics
Decline in collisions
We’ve helped to reduce the number of train/motor vehicle collisions from a 1972 high of roughly 12,000 annual incidents to approximately 2,025 incidents in 2016.
