Today is the first day of Rail Safety Week across Canada and the United States, and that is why I am putting genealogy aside for a moment to remind everyone to be safe on or near railway tracks and property.
When I see a photo of someone standing or walking on a railway track or climbing on railway cars, whether it be on a musician’s CD cover or someone’s weekend photo, I cringe.
When friends and relatives post photos on Facebook of their children standing or sitting on railway tracks, I ask them to remove them.
Why do I ask people to remove the photos? Because standing and walking on railway tracks is dangerous. Plain and simple.
Safety always comes first at CN. The objective of its community-education program, CN All Aboard for Safety, is to help prevent fatalities and injuries on or near railway property.
In my previous life, I worked for CN — Canadian National Railway Company — where I led its Rail Safety Week program for several years.
As a CN retiree, I want to share the following safety tips with you. I encourage you to share them with your family and friends.
• Never walk or play on train tracks. It’s dangerous and illegal.
• Never play or stay near a stopped train.
• Cross trains tracks at designated highway/railroad crossings.
• Look for signals and respect them.
• Be prepared to stop at crossings.
• Cross the tracks in low gear: do not change gears while crossing.
• Stalled vehicle? Get out quickly and move away from the vehicle and tracks.
• Listen for warning bells and whistles when approaching a crossing.
• Remember a train can hide another.
• Keep the CN Police number handy. 1-800-465-9239.
Learn more about rail safety in CN’s brochure, Working Together to Help Keep Our Communities Safe. The brochure is also available in French.
Have a safe day.
