Railroad, Police Struggle To Find Solutions To Fatal Pedestrian Collisions

<p>Three pedestrians have been killed by trains in Norman in the past month, leaving police and the rail company to explore new solutions for safety.&nbsp;</p>

Thursday, September 29th 2016, 5:53 pm

By: News 9


Three pedestrians have been killed by trains in Norman in the past month, leaving police and the rail company to explore new solutions for safety. They say there is not much more they can do besides raise awareness.

In Thursday's accident, police say a man, identified as 31-year-old Michael Andrew Railly, had his phone out at a crossing and believe he was trying to photograph the train as it barreled towards him. He was simply too close, but not every fatality has been an accident.

Since 2012, trains and pedestrians have collided nine times. Norman police say seven of those resulted in death, and seven were intended suicides.

"Every incident is tragic because every one of them are preventable," said Sherry Soliz, executive director of Oklahoma Operation Lifesaver. Operation Lifesaver works with BNSF on campaigns to encourage people to be on the lookout for trains, and believe they are on the right track towards increasing awareness.

Norman police have also been active in enforcing railroad laws. "We actually put our officers on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train with the train engineers," said Sarah Jensen, "and they actually call out those violations as they see them going down the tracks."

Despite these efforts, people do not seem to understand the dangers they face. Soliz said, "A train can hang over the tracks three feet on both sides. A lot of people don't realize that."

In Thursday's accident, the train was going 49 miles per hour, meaning it would take an entire mile to stop, even with emergency braking.

Some solutions, like barricading the entire rail line, just are not feasible. Jensen said, "If you were to put fences in, then people can get stuck inside closer to the tracks if they do cross over those fences."

While there are no plans to install barricades along the railroad, 50 feet on either side of the tracks is private property. Trespassing is a federal offense, punishable by a fine or jail time.

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