Georgia to take part in ‘Operation Clear Track’

ATLANTA — Georgia Operation Lifesaver, the nonprofit rail safety education organization, will join with Amtrak and more than 600 local, state, federal and railroad law enforcement organizations for “Operation Clear Track” on Tuesday, a one-day safety detail to raise awareness and enforce railroad grade crossing and trespassing laws in states across the U.S.

“Operation Clear Track” will be the largest railroad safety law enforcement operation in the U.S. The initiative is spearheaded by Amtrak, Operation Lifesaver Inc., and Canada Operation Lifesaver during Rail Safety Week, held Sept. 22-28 in the U.S. and Sept. 23-29 in Canada.

During Operation Clear Track, Georgia law enforcement personnel will be stationed at targeted railroad grade crossing incident locations to hand out railroad safety cards to motorists and pedestrians, and issue warnings and citations to violators. The goal of Rail Safety Week is to reduce pedestrian and driver injuries and fatalities around railroad tracks through increased public awareness and enforcement.

Federal statistics show that about every three hours in the United States, a person or vehicle is hit by a train; Georgia historically ranks in the Top 15 states for the highest number of crossing/trespass incidents due to its huge volume of train traffic and motor vehicle traffic and large number of railroad crossings.

In 2018, Georgia had 113 crossing collisions with 11 fatalities and 41 injuries, and 35 trespassing incidents. “Operation Clear Track” is an effort by Georgia Operation Lifesaver, Amtrak and rail safety partner organizations, including partner agencies and organizations such as the Georgia DOT, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Georgia Department of Public Safety/Georgia State Patrol, the railroads and many others including the USDOT agencies, all helping to raise awareness of the need for caution near train tracks during the week.

Visit Operation Lifesaver’s national website for safety tips and statistics: www.oli.org; visit the Rail Safety Week landing page for infographics, safety tips and more; or contact [email protected] for more information on “Operation Clear Track.”

Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit public safety education and awareness organization dedicated to reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and preventing trespassing on or near railroad tracks.

A national network of trained volunteers gives free presentations on rail safety and a public awareness campaign, “See Tracks? Think Train!” provides the public with tips and statistics to encourage safe behavior near the tracks. Learn more about Rail Safety Week by following OLI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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