www.operationlifesaver.ca

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BACKGROUNDIn 1974, there were 1,074 collisionsbetween trains and motor vehiclesat highway/railway crossings inCanada, resulting in 114 deathsand 664 injuries. The resultingnumber of needless fatalities andinjuries were further compoundedby numerous other trespassingincidents.

Many of the injured were perma-nently disabled. Property damagefrom these collisions was extensive.It is no exaggeration to say that thedirect and indirect costs of theseincidents amounted to several million dollars annually.

The greater tragedy, however, liesin the fact that virtually all of theseincidents could have been avoided.

Highway/railway collisions are, in fact, one of the most predictableof all transportation hazards.Trains and motor vehicles travel on hundreds of thousands of kilometres

of rail or highway and urban roadnetworks. Similarly, aircraft havemillions of kilometres of air spacein which to fly. However, a highway/railway crossing has aprecise location where a collisionbetween a train and a motor vehicle is most likely to occur – theintersection of the railway trackand the highway.

A large number of collisions atpublic crossings occur at crossingsequipped with active warningdevices such as gates, lights andbells; many of these collisionsinvolve the motor vehicle strikingthe side of the train.

In most circumstances, motoriststhemselves were responsible forthese collisions. They disregardedthe horn and bell warnings ofapproaching trains. They ignoredthe flashing lights and bell warningsat crossings and sometimes, theyeven drove around lowered barriers.

Look Listen and Live

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Studies consistently indicated that,despite the installation of gatesand other automatic warningdevices, pedestrian crossovers andstricter trespassing enforcement,there was a surprising lack ofknowledge about the potentialhazards.

These same reports, however, couldnot explain why people chose totrespass on railway property.

Studies have shown that trespassingincidents often take place whenpeople walk, lie down, cross or siton the tracks. Incidents also occurwhen recreational vehicle users,cross-country skiers and huntersuse railway property as a recre-ational playground.

To address these issues, the railwayindustry joined forces with theRailway Transport Committee ofthe (then) Canadian TransportCommission as well as with provin-cial and municipal governments inongoing and aggressive programsto improve railway-related safety.However, there was a need for anational focal point to collect information on all program effortsand to coordinate and assist allstakeholders in preventing high-way/railway crossing and trespassingincidents. Therefore, to educate thepublic and deal with this problem,the Operation Lifesaver programwas implemented in Canada in1981.

Any time is train time

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OPERATION LIFESAVEROperation Lifesaver (OL) is anational public awareness programaimed at reducing railway relatedincidents resulting in fatalities andinjuries. By using various initiatives,OL promotes safety at highway/railway crossings for drivers as well as for pedestrians. Emphasis is placed on dangerous behavioursuch as trespassing on railwayproperty or disobeying railwaysigns and signals.

WHAT IS OPERATIONLIFESAVER?OL is a partnership between theRailway Association of Canada andits members, Transport Canada,the Canada Safety Council and theprovincial safety councils/leagues,unions, police, public and commu-nity groups.

● OL StructureOperation Lifesaver is guided by a National Advisory Committee,which provides advice to theNational Director regarding thedevelopment and implementationof the program. Members of the

committee include representativesfrom Transport Canada, TheRailway Association of Canada,Canada Safety Council, CanadianNational Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, VIA Rail Canada, GO Transit, Railway Police, RoyalCanadian Mounted Police,Ontario Provincial Police, SûretéQuébec, First Nation’s PoliceAssociation, Brotherhood ofLocomotive Engineers, UnitedTransportation Union and an edu-cation specialist.

Provincial OL committees, madeup of various stakeholders, workon local issues and coordinateactivities within each province.

Don’t get stopped dead on the track!

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● Certified PresentersThe backbone of the OL Programis its volunteers. These includeMaster Trainers, Presenter Trainers,Presenters and Associates. Presentersand Associates are required tocomplete a certification process,which includes a police referencecheck and training. Presentersdeliver the Operation Lifesaverprogram and Associates support theprogram by staffing displays andparticipating in other OL activities.

Similar Operation Lifesaver pro-grams exist in the USA, Mexico,Argentina, England and Australia.

WHY OPERATIONLIFESAVER?In Canada, a train collides with avehicle or a person almost everyday. Many people are unfamiliarwith the warning devices designedfor their safety. They are unawarethat trains cannot stop quickly orswerve to avoid a collision.

Statistics reveal that many peopleare also unaware that trespassingon railway property is both dan-gerous and illegal.

This lack of awareness emphasizesthe need to educate the public onthe dangers surrounding railwayproperty.

Trespassing is a leading cause ofrailway related fatalities. Railwaytracks and bridges are privateproperty and any unauthorizedperson who is on railway propertywhich is not designated as a cross-ing, is committing an offenceunder the law. Whether you arewalking along the tracks, riding asnowmobile or an all-terrain vehi-cle, or you are simply crossing atrack at a location not identifiedas a crossing, YOU ARE TRES-PASSING. This is very dangerousand also illegal; you can be subjectto a warning, a fine or worse. Youcan pay with your life.

Operation Lifesaver is committedto working with the communityand with the general public in an effort to reduce the number offatalities and injuries due to tres-passing and dangerous behaviourat crossings.

Railway tracksare for TRAINS!

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HOW DOES OPERATION LIFESAVERMEET ITS GOALS?The very strength of OperationLifesaver lies in its railway/govern-ment/community co-operativeeffort. The program seeks to join all federal, provincial andmunicipal authorities, enforce-ment agencies, railways and theirunions and various public safetyorganizations in a nationwideeffort to reduce deaths, injuriesand property damage resultingfrom railway-related incidents.Participation by all these membersis essential to the success of theprogram.

To achieve its goals, OperationLifesaver focuses on Education,Enforcement and Engineering –the Three E’s.

● (1) EducationOperation Lifesaver educates peopleof all ages about the potentialdangers at highway/railway cross-ings and the seriousness of tres-passing on railway property. Themethods used to reach the publicinclude the production and distri-bution of educational material,safety presentations to schools,industries and community groupsand the staging of media events.

● (2) EnforcementOperation Lifesaver promotesenforcement of laws governingmotorist and pedestrian responsi-bilities at highway/railway cross-ings and on railway property. Theprogram works in partnershipwith enforcement agencies toheighten public awareness of thehazards which exist along railwayproperty.

The OL program is designed toincrease general public awarenessof potential hazards at highway/railway crossings and of the dangersassociated with trespassing on rail-way property. This program can beadapted to any age group and isgiven in the form of a presentation.

Presentations can last between 30and 60 minutes, depending on theaudience and its needs. If your schoolor organization is interested inbooking a free presentation or if youwould like to get involved, contactyour Provincial Safety Council/League or the national office at(613) 564-8100 or visit our websiteat www.operationlifesaver.ca.

For more information, contact yourlocal Safety Council/League:

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● (3) EngineeringOperation Lifesaver promotesresearch aimed at ensuring a highlevel of safety at railway crossingsand on railway property. OperationLifesaver also informs the publicof federal, provincial and other pro-grams aimed at improving railwaysafety.

By focusing on these issues andidentifying emerging concerns,Operation Lifesaver has been able to help reduce crossing colli-sions and trespassing incidents by over 60 percent.

PRESENTATIONSOperation Lifesaver has specialaudio-visual programs and printedmaterial available to help. The keyto the success of OperationLifesaver is through active partici-pation, which can be simply familia-rizing yourself and others with theappropriate warning signs.

Help us to save lives!

Ministère des Transports du QuébecMontreal AlouettesNew Brunswick – Department ofTransportationNew Brunswick East Coast RailwayNew Brunswick Safety CouncilNew Brunswick Southern RailwayNewfoundland & Labrador Safety CouncilNorfolk Southern CorporationNova Scotia Safety CouncilOntario – Ministry of TransportationOntario Northland TransportationCommissionOntario Provincial PoliceOntario Safety LeagueOntario Southland RailwayOperation Lifesaver Inc. (USA)Ottawa Central RailwayOttawa Valley RailwayQuebec Gatineau RailwayQuebec North Shore and Labrador RailwayQuebec Safety LeagueQuebec Southern Railway CompanyRoberval and Saguenay RailwayRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceSaskatchewan Safety CouncilSouth Simcoe Railway Southern Manitoba Railway Southern Ontario Railway Southern Railway of British ColumbiaSt. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (Quebec)Sûreté du QuébecSydney Coal RailwayThe Railway Association of CanadaToronto Terminals RailwayTrain Touristique “L’Express de LaMatapédia”Transport CanadaTrillium RailwayUnited Transportation UnionVIA Rail CanadaVIACOM OutdoorWabush Lake RailwayWest Coast ExpressWhite Pass & Yukon Route RailwayWindsor & Hantsport Railway

OPERATION LIFESAVERWOULD LIKE TO THANK THE MANY VOLUNTEERS WHO CONTINUOUSLY HELPDELIVER THIS PROGRAM AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT:

3M CanadaAgence métropolitaine de transportAlberta Prairie Railway ExcursionsAlberta RailNetAlberta Safety CouncilAmtrakArnaud Railway CompanyAthabasca Northern RailwayB.C. Rail Barrie-Collingwood RailwayBritish Columbia Safety CouncilBrotherhood of Locomotive EngineersBurlington Northern (Manitoba)Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Calgary FlamesCalgary StampedersCanada Safety CouncilCanadian American Railroad CompanyCanadian Federation of AgricultureCanadian Pacific Railway Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway Capital Railway (operated by OC Transpo)Cartier Railway CompanyCentral Manitoba RailwayCentral Western Railway Charlevoix Railway CompanyChemin de fer Baie des ChaleursChemin de fer de la Matapédia et du GolfeCNCSX TransportationDigital Video ProductionsDimension 4 MultimédiaDirection 2006E & N RailwayEdmonton EskimosEdmonton OilersEssex Terminal Railway CompanyFerroequus Railway CompanyGO TransitGoderich-Exeter RailwayGreat Canadian Railtour CompanyGreat Western RailwayHuron Central RailwayKelowna Pacific RailwayLakeland & Waterways Railway Mackenzie Northern Railway Manitoba Safety Council

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Always expect a train