Utah safety organizations increasing enforcements at tracks crossings
Sep 24, 2024, 12:37 PM | Updated: 1:10 pm
SOUTH SALT LAKE — Utah safety organizations are coming together this week to increase enforcement at tracks crossings. The goal is to educate pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and riders as part of the 2024 Rail Safety Week.
Officials said when it comes to you and a train, even if it is just a few seconds, do not chance racing through the crossing because the train will always win.
“There’s gate arms. There’s flashing lights. There’s walkway things,” Capt. Jason Petersen of the Utah Transit Authority police department said. Even that is not enough when we are distracted.
“We see a lot of distracted people. Their nose in their phone. They’re walking, oblivious to their surroundings,” Petersen, who has been on the job for nearly 25 years, said.
Petersen said this is a busy time of year, on top of the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
“It’s a crossed time of the season with all the events going on downtown. Christmas is on the approach. There’s football games. The students are back in school,” he said.
Tuesday’s Operation Clear the Track, which is part of the week’s Rail Safety Week, is to remind everyone to do just that. According to UTA, while reasons vary, some TRAX fatalities since 2022 include a driver running a red light and getting hit by a train.
In another instance, a bicyclist who went around the activated gates crossed in front of one train but was struck by a second train they could not see because of a blocked view.
A reminder, whether running late or zoned out, is this: “When red lights are flashing, the grade crossing’s active, and it’s dangerous,” Petersen said.
In 2023, there were roughly 36 railway incidents, some resulting in injuries and fatalities. The goal through this week is to keep that number down.
