Koon's Watch

It’s often overlooked. The amount of calls we get reporting people on railroad tracks may surprise you.

Standing on rail road tracks is illegal and dangerous.

This week marks the 3rd annual Rail Safety Week to raise awareness and enforce state railroad grade crossing and trespassing laws.

This week, the Sheriff’s Department with the Amtrak Police Department and Operation Lifesaver – the nonprofit rail safety education organization – participated in “Operation Clear Track,” along with more than 600 law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Deputies from our traffic division patrolled various railroad crossing locations in Lexington County to enforce violators and educate citizens on proper crossing procedures.

We also passed out railroad safety cards to motorists and pedestrians.

The goal of Rail Safety Week is to reduce pedestrian and driver injuries and deaths near railroad tracks through increased public awareness and enforcement.

This detail, carried out in 48 states, is the single largest rail safety law enforcement initiative in the US. We are proud to participate.

Federal statistics show that about every 3 hours in the United States, a person or vehicle is hit by a train.

In our county alone, since the beginning of 2018, we’ve responded | to calls regarding children on the tracks, cars stuck on tracks, trespassers hit by trains, ATVs riding on the tracks and more—nearly 2 dozen of them.

Please don’t put yourself in danger. Railroad tracks are not a playground.

Stay clear and stay safe.

Visit Operation Lifesaver’s national website for safety tips and statistics, www.oli.org or www.stayoffthetracks.org for more information.