Open to anyone 30 or under. Create a 60 second video or either a meme or GIF that demonstrates the dangers of trespassing on or near railroad tracks. First prize for each category will be an iPad pro! Second prizes are AirPods with chargers. As if that wasn't cool enough, winning entries will be showcased on Metro North stations, and will be featured on both Metro North's TRACKS program web site and on this web site.
And yes we'll trumpet your creations on social media as well.
So enter the contest and have some fun while creating an important safety message. After all, that's what Metro Man™ does, deliver crucial safety info wrapped in a fun package.
YOU CAN HELP METRO-MAN™ TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF TRESPASSING ON OR NEAR RAILROAD TRACKS.
And get some cool prizes. Enter the contest
Your video, meme or GIF can help prevent someone from doing something that puts them in danger. Things like walking on the tracks while talking on the phone as a train barrels toward them, or walking on the tracks while wearing earbuds, and or taking selfies on the tracks with a train seconds away. These kinds of behaviors all occur WAY TOO OFTEN. So be creative, have some fun and help a safety superhero do their job! Enter the contest
2021 RAIL SAFETY WEEK MONDAY 9/20-SUNDAY 9/26
Roughly 1,000 people die from train collisions every year. Astonishing and sad, but true.
Each year Operation Lifesaver hosts Rail Safety Week throughout the US to highlight train safety issues. RSW events will be occuring throughout New York and North America all week.
Metro North Commuter Railroad and New York Operation Lifesafer will be joining forces for two major outreach campaigns including a fun contest for those under 30. With prizes too. Check here and our social media pages for more information. We'll have more information on New York Rail Safety Week 2021 events as we get closer!
International Level Crossing Awareness Day 2021
ILCAD 2021 occured on June 10th. For the second year in a row, NYOL created a one day ad campaign. This year our 30 second PSAs were seen by 115,000 people throughout New York.
ILCAD is a global commitment to raise public awareness about the dangers associated with the road/rail interfaces known as level crossings or grade crossings. The first ILCAD was held on June 25th, 2009 with participation in 28 countries, and has since expanded to over 40 countries worldwide. In 2020 New York Operation Lifesaver for the first time joined our partners in New York State like the Long Island Railraod and the Metro North Railroad to celebrate International Level Crossing Awareness Day.
NYOL Success Stories from 2020
Trespass Prevention Campaign
If you traveled on Metro North you may well have seen our poster in a kiosk like this one at Grand Central Station
LIRR and Metro North Put Trespass Posters in Many Stations
Maybe you saw one of our posters.
Our goal was to teach people that walking or playing on the tracks or cutting across on a shortcut is extremely dangerous.
With the help of our ad firm SGNY we produced three videos in English and Spanish. You can see them at our Vimeo site
Our English Trespass PSA, seen over three million times on TV stations in the NYC metro area so far and 800,000 times on Facebook can be viewed here vimeo.com/503163187
Our Spanish Trespass PSA, seen over half a million times on Facebook can be viewed here vimeo.com/503163099
In addition to all those millions on TV and facebook, our trespass education ads were seen on Tik Tok 2.5 million times and our PSAs reached nearly 3 million folks on radio. Trespass education starts with understanding that Train Impact Stories Never Have Happy Endings
In 2019 1,122 people were injured or killed while trespassing. Don't become a statistic stay off the tracks and cross only at designated areas.
Even if you didn't see our posters or our ads or hear or see the PSAs we made for this campaign, remember:
Trains Belong On Tracks. You Don't!
At-Grade Crossing Safety Campaign
Our PSAs and ads have been seen over four and a half million times by people throughout New York.
Our targeted ads concentrated on the 15 crossings with the highest likelihood of collisions according to Federal Railroad Administration data. Whether our message was never try to beat a train, like in the example above of the banner ads we're running on-line, or to never go around a downed gate, we tried to get people to make safe decisions railroad crossings.
Emergency Notification System
Have You Heard of the Emergency Notification System Blue and White sign?
Our Emergency Notification System campaign targeted both truck drivers and the general driving public information about the blue and whie Emergency Notification System sign located at everyat every railroad crossing. Our ads were seen 2.3 million times on line and our Gas Station TV ads were seen another half million times. We want to thank TravelCenters of America for partnering with us and putting up posters and other print material in their New York locations.
Do You Know What to do if your vehicle gets stuck at a railroad crossing?
Get Out of your Vehicle. Look for an approaching Train. Then find the blue and white Emergency Notification Sign on the signal post - like in the picture on the right. CAll the 800 number on the sign. This puts you in touch with the railroad company and they are the only ones able to stop an oncoming train. If you can't find the sign call 911
2021 RAIL SAFETY WEEK IS COMING SEPTEMBER 20-26
2020 marked the first time that Rail Safety Week events are taking place throughout North America. New York Operation Lifesaver joined Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI), Operation Lifesaver Canada and the Mexican Association of Railroads (AMF) in hosting virtual and in-person events throghout the continent.
RSW 2021 IN NEW YORK
Due to the coronavirus issue, New York Operation Lifesaver didn'tdo any live events for RSW 2020 We concentrated our efforts on seeking out interviews and posting to social media. Weexpect to do live events for RSW 2021 and will announce those events soon.
New York Operation Lifesaver is dedicated to:
• Reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and trespassing on or near railroad tracks.
• Promoting rail safety through public awareness campaigns and education initiatives
• Providing free safety presentations by authorized volunteers to school groups, driver education classes, community audiences, professional drivers, law enforcement officers, emergency responders, and others.
SomeTrack Safety Basics
Always expect a train at each highway-rail intersection at any time.
Trains have the right of way 100% of the time over emergency vehicles, cars, the police and pedestrians.
It takes the average freight train traveling at 55 mph more than a mile to stop.
A train can extend three feet or more beyond the steel rail, cars and pedestrians should stay at least 15 feeet from the tracks.
Trains can move in either direction at any time.
Remember to cross train tracks ONLY at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings, and obey all warning signs and signals posted there.
Remember #StayPatientStay Alive
To keep people safe around the tracks and railway crossings across New York, we promote the three Es:
Education
Engineering
Enforcement
For over thirty years, New York Operation Lifesaver (NYOL) volunteers have provided free safety presentations throughout New York State.
NYOL is sponsored by federal, state and local governement agencies, New York's railroads and other entities. Throughout New York, we work with schools, law enforcement agencies, railroads, and governement officials to spread the message of safety at railroad crossings and along tracks to as many people as possible.
Operation Lifesaver History
New York Operation Lifesaver is part of a national nonprofit program known as Operation LIfesaver, Inc. (OLI)).
When Operation Lifesaver began in Idaho in 1972 there were about 12,0000 collisions at U.S. highway-rail grade crossingsevery year. To address this tragic reality, the Idaho governor's office, along with the Idaho Peace Officers and Union Pacific Railroad launched a six-week public awareness educational campaign called Operation Lifesaver to promote highway-rail grade crossing safety. After Idaho's crossing-related fatalities decreased that year by 43%, the successful program was adopted by Nebraska (1973) and in Kansas and Georgia the following year. Within a decade it had spread across the country. In 1986 a non-profit Operation Lifesaver national office was created to help support the efforts of state OL programs and raise national awareness on highway-rail grade crossing issues.
Today there are about 2,100 collisions every year, a reduction of over 80% over the last fifty years. While that is a great indication of how important the work we do is, there are still about 8 collisions every day between a train and a car or a person. Even one is too much.
Stuck on the tracks?
Look for the Emergency Notification Sign
Where's it located? Look for it on the crossing gate.
NY OL Events
A Partial List of Upcoming New York Operation Lifesaver Presentations and Events
February 19,2020 Niskayuna Bus Driveer Training Niskayuna, NY
March 8, 2020 Camillus Model Train show Camillus Fire Dept., Camillus, NY
March 11, 2020 Board Meeting New York Operation LIfesaver
March 24, 2020 Teen Traffic Safety Fair EXPO Center at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse NY
NY OL Safety Partners
New York Operation Lifesaver partners with state and federal agencies, railroads, and other nonprofits.
New York State Department of Transportation
Federal Railroad Administration
New York State Governor's Traffice Safety Committee
CSX Transportation
Canadian Pacific Railway
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
New York and Atlantic Railway
Metro North Railroad
Long Island Rail Road
NY OL Statistics
When Operation Lifesaver began in 1972 over 12,000 train collisions occured every year in the United States.
In 1972, there were 32 collisions between trains and people, or vehicles, per day
That's one every 45 minutes!
Due to the efforts of Operation Lifesaver volunteers, the implementation of engineering solutions, efforts by state and federal agencies, and enforcement by law enforcement, the rate of collisions has fallen to about 1 every 3 hours.
Never stop on the tracks!
National Statistics - 2018
2,214 collisions occured
Over 1,000 people were injured
270 died as a result of the collision
1,050 collisions due to trespassing
571 died as a result of the collision
New York State Statistics - 2018
26 collisions occured at railroad crossings resulting in 4 deaths
Trespassing resulted in 52 collisions and 38 deaths
Our goal is to reduce deaths from train collisions in New York State to zero.
Federal Railroad Administration Collision Statistics
