| For whatever reason, South Florida auto safety | | | | them. |
| rates decline around train tracks: Florida has a | | | | Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit public education |
| very high rate of train-versus-car accidents. The | | | | program formed in 1972, offers videos, |
| Sun Sentinel newspaper reported a story in | | | | publications, and tips to help drivers end collisions, |
| November, 2009 in which a collision between a | | | | deaths and injuries at places where roadways |
| Tri-Rail communter train and a car resulted in the | | | | cross train tracks, and on railroad rights-of-way. |
| deaths of two of the three women in the car. | | | | They give seven steps for Florida auto safety |
| The third passenger in the car was seriously | | | | around train tracks: |
| injured. This accident is the sixth South Florida | | | | 1. Approach crossing with care. Slow down when |
| accident in 2009 that involved a car and either a | | | | you see an Advanced Warning Sign. |
| Tril-Rail train or an Amtrak train. Most of the | | | | 2. Prepare to stop. Turn off fans and radio, roll |
| accidents involved a car that was stuck on the | | | | down windows. Look and listen for a train. |
| tracks at a railroad crossing. | | | | 3. Stop at least 15 feet from nearest rail, but not |
| There is more bad news: the Federal Railroad | | | | more than 50 feet, if you see a train. |
| Administration reports that Florida ranks 9th on | | | | 4. If it won’t fit, don’t commit. Trains |
| the list of states for collisions between a train and | | | | extend beyond the width of the rails at least 3 |
| an automobile. The Sunshine State had 74 | | | | feet on each side. If your vehicle has a trailer, |
| collisions out of the 2,391 auto-train accidents in | | | | remember the additional length. |
| 2008 and these collisions resulted in 25 deaths. | | | | 5. Double check, back left and right. Before you |
| While it is difficult to know exactly why people | | | | move look in both directions. |
| have trouble at railroad crossings, impatience | | | | 6. Cross tracks with care. If your vehicle has a |
| surely is a factor. People just do not want to be | | | | manual transmission, use a gear that will not |
| stuck waiting for a train to cross in front of | | | | require shifting until you reach the opposite side. |
| them, so they try to jump the crossing gates to | | | | 7. Keep going once you start, even if lights start |
| get through before the train does. Distraction | | | | to flash or gates come down. |
| plays another role: if people are on their cell | | | | We will offer an additional Florida auto safety tip: if |
| phones or are texting while driving, they often | | | | traffic is backed up from a traffic light on the |
| miss visual or auditory clues from the | | | | other side of the tracks, don't stop your car on |
| environment around them. Many fail to see the | | | | the tracks while waiting for the light to change. If |
| changing of a traffic light or the pedestrian | | | | a train comes before the traffic in front of you |
| stepping off a curb in front of them, and often | | | | can move out of the way, you will be the one |
| can fail to see railroad gates lowering in front of | | | | stuck in its path! |