March 19, 2024

Rail safety important year-round, trooper says

Average of six tresspassers killed by trains in Iowa each year

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As the weather warms up, there are seasonal warnings to watch out for more farm vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles. However, there is one type of outdoor travel safety that a local public education officer feels is often neglected.

Trooper Doug Cutts of the Iowa State Patrol said it’s important to remember trains cannot stop easily and railroads are private property.

“You can be charged with criminal trespass if you’re found by law enforcement on railroad tracks,” Cutts said. “Even if tracks go across your own property, those tracks belong to the railroads.”

There are typically fewer than 10 injuries and fatalities statewide due to railroad trespassing, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. However, some years, there have been enough occasional spikes — there were 15 in 1992 and 11 in 2013 — to convince the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa State Patrol to reissue warnings about safety around railroad tracks.

In 2015, there were 55 train accidents in Iowa attributed to human factors or track obstruction, but there were none in Jasper County. There were two accidents each in Marion and Polk counties and one in Marshall County. Pottawattamie led the list with 12.

Cutts said no matter what the statistics show, accidents can happen at any time, on any stretch of track. There really is no such thing as safe travel on or along tracks.

The trooper said springtime tends to bring out more mushroom hunters, observers of butterflies and of various plants and animals and ordinary hikers and campers, not to mention anyone using an off-road vehicle. While it might be tempting to follow tracks to a desired area — especially when the shortcut it provides saves significant time and mileage — but tracks are simply not meant for anything but trains.

“You might think it would be common sense to avoid tracks, but people do it all the time,” Cutts said. “You have no idea how fast those trains are going, and even if you’re walking on the side, trains stick out about three feet on each side past the rails. Plus, even on a service road, you never know what vehicles might be out there, not looking for you.”

Sports teams and other groups might be tempted to use a picturesque railroad setting for photographs. This is ill-advised, as it’s difficult to do without trespassing or being in the path of a train.

Railroad bridges are a different sort of temptation, as tracks might be the only way over a road or river for miles in either direction. Cutts said there is nowhere to go if a person ends up on a bridge at the same time as a train, and the tracks and ties are not meant for walking, so tripping and falling are possible.

“Again, trains stick out about three feet on each side,” he said.

Cutts said Jasper County crossings are particularly problematic for Newton residents because most of them don’t have to wait for trains as often as in other Iowa communities.

“In other places, like Boone or Ames or Knoxville, train crossings are a bigger part of each neighborhood,” Cutts said. “Folks are more accustomed to making adjustments for trains. I tell people, you can’t go around a crossing arm, and you have to stop for a flashing light.”

In the event a driver’s vehicle becomes disabled or stuck in or on the tracks, he said trying to get the car free shouldn’t be as important as getting people out of the way. He said the important thing is to get all people out of stuck vehicle, get off the tracks, and then run toward the train, rather than away from it.

“If the train can’t stop, it’s going to knock a vehicle down the tracks,” he said. “You don’t want a train to knock your vehicle toward you. You’d rather be behind the train.”

Cutts said his regular safety presentations in schools vary in mentions of railroads, depending on the age group. He’ll have a “summer safety” presentation for K-3 students, where he stresses the importance of not playing on or near railroad tracks.

“I also tell them not to place rocks or heavy objects on the tracks, even though it might seem fun,” he said. “What happens when the train hits the gravel? Where does it go? Someone could get hurt.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com