Railway safety is everyone’s concern and students at Donald Young School in Emo got a first-hand lesson from local CN Police Cst. Pete LeDrew on Monday in conjunction with Safe Crossing Week (Oct. 22-28).
Wilma Kooistra’s Grade 4 and 5 class was treated by a visit by Cst. LeDrew on the concerns of crossing train tracks safely.
“Any time is train time,” Cst. LeDrew stressed to the young students, though most of them already seemed to know somewhat of train safety.
Trains can’t swerve or stop, and they can take 15 football fields to stop, noted Cst. LeDrew, one of 95 CN Police constables across Canada.
Look, listen, live, and never place items on the tracks, he added. When the train hits the items, they can hurt the train, sending parts or the items into nearby houses, cars, and people.
Safe Kids Canada and CN created the Safe Crossing Program as a one-day event in 2005. By 2006, it became Safe Crossing Week, involving hundreds of elementary schools across the country and reaching millions of people through the media.
“Education plays a key role in preventing injuries, and the work we do now with young children will have a positive impact on their behavior when they grow older,” Allyson Hewitt, executive director of Safe Kids Canada, said in a press release.
“Once they learn the rules, they have the tools to be safe when they are around railway tracks or railway property,” she added.
There are key rules when railway tracks and safety are concerned. The following can save the lives of our children and others alike:
•Always cross at a railway crossing with lights, gates, and/or the cross walk sign.
•Listen for the warning bell and train whistles.
•Look both ways before crossing the tracks.
•If one train passes, make sure a second train is not approaching on the same or another track.
•Walking or playing on or near tracks is dangerous and illegal.
More than 53,000 students in some 300 elementary schools across Canada will participate in the week’s events.
Pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers all must do their part in order to be safe along the railways. Trains can’t stop as quickly as a car. It can take up to two km (or more depending on the speed of the train) to come to a complete stop.
As well, trains at times may appear to be moving slower than they really are.
Each year, almost 100 people are killed and another 100 injured in collisions involving trains. Education is attempting to lower these numbers.
The Safe Crossing Program is a part of CN’s All Aboard for Safety (AAFS) community education program, through which CN police officers have been promoting railway safety for more than 25 years.
Every year, CN police officers make AAFS presentations to more than 300,000 students and adults in schools and at community events in Canada and the U.S.
For more information about Safe Crossing Week 2007, visit www.safekidscanada.ca or call 1-888-SAFE-TIPS (723-3847).
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
