National awareness week spotlights train, railroad safety

JACKSON, Tenn. — It’s important to practice safety when on or near railroad tracks and crossings.

And with students now back in school, rail safety is especially important in school zones near tracks and crossings.

This week is “National See Tracks, Think Train” week.

One critical safety reminder to consider is that it takes a train over one mile on average to come to a complete stop.

“Today’s technology is so powerful at drowning out noise, it can even drown out the sound of a train, and unfortunately, all too often, people are walking down the tracks, they’ve got their earbuds in, engineers blasting the horn, and they can’t hear it and they never see it coming,” said John Fleps, VP and Chief Safety Officer, Norfolk Southern.

If you find yourself in an emergency, every railroad crossing is equipped with a blue ENS sign with critical numbers to get help.

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