‘Like a scary movie ... but it’s real.’ What to know about safety around railroad tracks.

For a train engineer, seeing a car or a person ahead on the tracks is a living nightmare.

“It’s like a scary movie on TV, but it’s real,” said retired engineer Wayne Gentry. “You see it occurring in front of you. You know you’re going to hit them.”

Gentry said a train going 55 mph takes a mile or more to stop, and the only thing to do is hit “all the brakes that you have” and then “watch it unfold.”

“As an engineer, I was devastated,” he said.

During his career traveling daily between Louisville and Danville for Norfolk Southern, Gentry went through that over and over again.

“I was involved in 43 crashes and one suicide,” he said. “I had trouble sleeping.”

Now that he’s retired, Gentry, of Louisville, has dedicated himself to providing education to as many Kentuckians as he can about railroad safety. He is Kentucky’s state coordinator for the nonprofit Operation Lifesaver, a nationwide organization supported by the railroad industry.

“The only thing that can keep people safe is awareness,” he said. “I do the best I can to give people information and hope they make better choices.”

A handful of collisions involving trains have occurred in Kentucky recently, including one in Laurel County that left a teenager dead, one in Lexington that left someone seriously hurt, and another in Barren County that killed a truck driver. Gentry said there are important steps everyone can take to make sure they stay safe around trains.

How common are train incidents?

There were 763 fatalities involving trains in the U.S. last year, 10 of which were in Kentucky, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. There were 4,597 injuries reported, including 31 in Kentucky.

Gentry said that over the past 50 years, the number of crashes involving trains has decreased, primarily because of education, enforcement of laws about crossing tracks and engineering improvements such as better signaling and signage at crossings.

But there are still hundreds of people injured and killed in incidents involving trains each year. Data indicates that deaths involving pedestrians are more common than those involving motorists.

Between January and November 2021, Gentry said Federal Railroad Administration data indicates that there were 38 train vs. automobile incidents at grade crossings in Kentucky and one fatality.

During the same period, he said seven people died in trespassing incidents involving trains in Kentucky, incidents in which people were walking on or very close to tracks.

Since 2010, 113 people have died and 116 have been injured in trespassing incidents involving railroads in Kentucky. Ten of the deaths were in Fayette County, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

Gentry said FRA data shows that during the same time period, there were 54 fatalities at Kentucky grade crossings.

What happened in the most recent Kentucky crashes?

In recent days, Kentucky has seen several train collisions that resulted in deaths and injuries.

In Lexington, a man told police he had been assaulted and was unconscious when he was hit by a train Friday morning near North Broadway and Loudon Avenue. The man’s arm was severed, WKYT reported.

A 16-year-old boy died after being hit by a train in Laurel County about 7 miles south of London early Thursday. On Wednesday, a 33-year-old man died after he drove a Mack truck into the path of an oncoming train at a railroad crossing in Cave City in Barren County.

Last Saturday, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office said, a tractor-trailer got stuck on the tracks at a railroad crossing in Glendale and was hit by a train. No one was injured, the sheriff’s office said.

And late last month, a driver in Floyd County was sent to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening after a collision involving a train.

What can I do to stay safe?

Operation Lifesaver says pedestrians and motorists should be mindful when it comes to trains. Among the top tips:

• “Always expect a train” the organization’s website states, and know that they “may be closer and traveling faster than they appear.” If you see a train, never try to beat it. The organization also notes that modern trains are much quieter than older models, making them harder to hear.
  
  

• Only cross tracks at designated crossings. Anywhere else is unsafe and illegal. Look both ways before trying to cross, because trains can go in either direction.

• “Always obey warning signs and signals. Always look for a train before proceeding.” If lights are flashing or gates are down, don’t cross.

• Don’t get stuck on the tracks. Make sure there’s space to completely cross on the other side before you start across railroad tracks.

• “Trains overhang tracks. When driving leave at least 15 feet between the front and rear of your vehicle and the nearest rail. Avoid shifting gears while crossing.”

• “If your vehicle gets stuck or stalls at a crossing, get everyone out and far away immediately, even if you do not see a train. Call the number on the Blue and White Emergency Notification System sign and share the crossing ID number with the dispatcher. No sign? Dial 911.”

• Don’t walk on tracks and keep well away from them. According to Operation Lifesaver, trains can overhang the rails by three feet or more on each side, meaning pedestrians should stay further than that from them.

• It’s illegal and unsafe to conduct photo and video shoots on tracks.

• People on bikes or using wheelchairs or strollers should cross at a 90 degree angle, since wheels can become stuck.

Gentry said one of the best pieces of advice he has will be printed at the bottom of a new Kentucky specialty license plate supporting railroad safety: “See tracks? Think train.”

The Federal Railroad Administration says suicides are among the more common causes of railroad-related fatalities, and since 2011, it has tracked and sought strategies for preventing them.

The national suicide prevention hotline is open 24/7 and can be reached by calling 988.

Want to learn more?

Operation Lifesaver and the Federal Railroad Administration have educational materials and resources available through their websites.

If you have a device with Amazon’s Alexa on it, Gentry said you can also say, “Alexa, open train safety trivia,” and your Alexa device will begin a trivia game.

He said his stepdaughter wrote the program for him because she knows how important the issue is to him.

Gentry said his organization has volunteers throughout the state who make presentations to school bus drivers, new drivers, school children and other groups on track safety.

His final word on train safety is one that could apply to many life situations: “Always be aware of your surroundings. Don’t be so preoccupied with whatever else you’re doing.”