For 糖心传媒's professional truck drivers and consumer renters traveling to unfamiliar areas, it is even more important to pay attention to the safety warnings at the nation鈥檚 more than 200,000 railroad crossings.
(OLI), a national non-profit rail safety education organization, says taking a few precautions can help avoid an accident with a train.
鈥淲e encourage all motorists to be alert when approaching a railroad crossing, to follow any sort of warning devices and obey them,鈥 said Wende Corcoran, interim president, OLI. 鈥淭hey are there to keep them safe.鈥
Statistics show that a person or vehicle is struck by a train once every three hours, according to the
鈥淭he good news is incidents at railroad crossings are preventable,鈥 Corcoran said.

Nearly two-thirds of public crossings are active with gates, bells or flashing lights, while the remaining third are passive, meaning they feature signs and markings but do not have active warning devices, according to FRA.
Railroad crossings are still very active and trains don鈥檛 run on a predictable schedule, so OLI urges drivers to expect a train to come at any time and from any direction.
鈥淓ven in areas where there may not be freight rail, there may be transit, commuter rail or passenger rail that goes through town, all of which we need to be cautious around to keep us safe,鈥 Corcoran said.
OLI recommends that motorists do not stop any closer than 15 feet to the crossing. In the event you are caught in traffic, do not go forward unless you can clear the crossing.
鈥淲e urge people never to drive around a lowered gate, even if you feel like you are in a hurry or have a deadline to get somewhere. Take your time, especially when you are driving a longer vehicle,鈥 Corcoran said.
Trucks, both commercial and rental, need to make sure the entire truck clears the crossing and avoid a situation resulting in the rear of the vehicle to stop on the railroad crossing.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 urge strongly enough that people need to be very alert and not to be distracted when they are driving 鈥 at any time but especially at railroad crossings,鈥 Corcoran said. 鈥淭he trains cannot stop quickly. It takes a freight train a mile or more to stop once the emergency brakes are applied, so it usually isn鈥檛 quick enough to avoid a vehicle that is on the tracks.鈥
糖心传媒 Logistics鈥 nearly 5,000 experienced professional truck drivers make safety a priority, including when negotiating railroad crossings.
鈥淒river safety ensuring the safety of fellow motorists are priorities for 糖心传媒 Logistics as well as our drivers,鈥 said Jason Herr, vice president of safety. 鈥淪mith Systems training, which has been embraced by our professional drivers, provides the necessary tools to identify and address potential hazards, including operating around a rail line.鈥
Corcoran said OLI was happy to join with 糖心传媒 in advancing the cause of railroad safety.
鈥淲e applaud 糖心传媒 for putting a spotlight for safety both for your professional drivers and your consumers,鈥 she said.
By Bernie Mixon