{"id":5822,"date":"2012-10-18T14:50:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-18T19:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=5822"},"modified":"2012-10-18T14:50:18","modified_gmt":"2012-10-18T19:50:18","slug":"multi-agencies-address-railroad-crossing-safety-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=5822","title":{"rendered":"Multi-Agencies Address Railroad Crossing Safety Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>From North Dakota Highway Patrol..<\/p>\n

BISMARCK, ND – <\/strong>Since 2007, North Dakota has experienced more than a 50% increase in vehicle-train collisions.<\/p>\n

In the past five and a half years, there have been more than 100 vehicle-train incidents resulting in 45 injuries and 11 fatalities in North Dakota.<\/p>\n

Michael Bachmeier of the Federal Railroad Administration says vehicle-train collisions have steadily increased since 2006. “Crash data indicates 2012 will likely go down as one of the most dangerous years in recent history,” says Bachmeier. “As of July, there have been 19 vehicle-train collisions that have occurred on North Dakota roads. There were a total of 20 in all of 2011. At this pace, we are on track to almost double our incidents this year,” says Bachmeier.<\/p>\n

The North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP), North Dakota Safety Council (NDSC), North Dakota Operation Lifesaver (NDOL), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and BNSF Railroad (BNSF) are working together to increase safety and reduce incidents at railroad crossings throughout North Dakota. This week, motorists will see these agencies working around the state to heighten crossing safety awareness through education and enforcement.<\/p>\n

“Our goal is to work together to increase public awareness of potential dangers that exist at railroad crossings through education and enforcement. By enforcing the traffic laws that pertain to these intersections, hopefully we can eliminate drivers’ actions that can have tragic consequences,” says Serena Schmit, NDOL State Coordinator.<\/p>\n

The troopers in the NDHP Motor Carrier Operations will be focused on reducing commercial vehicle collisions with trains by increasing enforcement efforts all across the state. Troopers have identified crossings with an increase in truck traffic and are monitoring the crossings to ensure drivers make safe decisions when crossing. Certain types of commercial vehicles, such as carriers of hazardous materials, are required to stop prior to crossing the tracks. “Crossing collisions involving hazardous materials can jeopardize the lives of an entire community,” states Lieutenant Jody Skogen of the NDHP. “Our troopers are committed to preventing these incidents.”<\/p>\n

The NDOL is spreading their safety message with the NDOL Wrecked Car Trailer. This trailer travels around the state and features a car that was involved in a vehicle-train collision. It demonstrates the destruction that can occur if you ignore the signs and signals at crossings. Watch for the wrecked car trailer at the Stanley Cenex this week, where NDOL and the FRA will be sharing their safety message to “Look, Listen, & Live” at railroad crossings.<\/p>\n

For more information about rail safety or to request a presentation for your group or employees, contact North Dakota Operation Lifesaver program coordinator Serena Schmit at 701-873-2224 or serenas@ndsc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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From North Dakota Highway Patrol.. BISMARCK, ND – Since 2007, North Dakota has experienced more than a 50% increase in vehicle-train collisions. In the past five and a half years, there have been more than 100 vehicle-train incidents resulting in 45 injuries and 11 fatalities in North Dakota. Michael Bachmeier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5822"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5823,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5822\/revisions\/5823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}