FRA Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Activities 2017 SCORT Annual Meeting Oakland, CA September 19, 2017
Crossing & Trespass Incidents Rail-related Fatalities - 2016 95% of rail-related fatalities Crossing fatalities – plateaued since 2009 Trespass fatalities – relatively unchanged Crossing Fatalities – 2000-2016 Trespass Fatalities – 2000 - 2016
FRA’s Crossing/Trespass Team FRA is expanding its field crossing team FRA plans to have a total 32 field positions working on crossing safety issues 9 positions in HQ
Access to Data Web Site Improvement – Public access to information Mobile Devices such as Rail Crossing Locator
Learning Tool
GX Dash! Visual Crossing Data www.fra.dot.gov/gxdash
Trespass Casualty Map http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0619
Upcoming Activities State Action Plans Train Horn/Quiet Zone Notice of Safety Inquiry
Ron Ries (202) 493-6285 ron.ries@dot.gov Questions Ron Ries (202) 493-6285 ron.ries@dot.gov
Education Operation Lifesaver Emergency Responders Funding $1.M in FY 2017 Training, PSA, State Grants Funding for new learning tools through R&D Emergency Responders Operation Lifesaver Last year FRA provided $1.025M to OLI - $300K to be used on PSA “Take Safety to Heart” – first target at the high 15 states – 70% of fatalities have occurred in these states Trainers – 8 Level 2 and 2 Level 3 GX mgrs. Work closely with OL state coordinators on many events such as blitz, officer-on-train, CMV Drivers Includes regular commercial motor vehicles and school buses Swift Trucking – 15,000 new drivers trained a year Several regional forums on GX safety Professional Sport Teams AZ Diamondbacks, Seattle Seahawks – OL Awareness Days, safety announcements, and player PSAs K-12 Lesson Plans Boy Scouts – merit badge and jamboree Milk Carton Public Safety Message – WA, OR, ND
Enforcement Focus Area National Working Group -Fully operational law enforcement working group Photo Enforcement -Automated enforcement at grade crossings pilot Three (soon to be four) educational first responders videos posted to fra.dot.gov
Enhanced Enforcement Guide to Best Practices and Resources for Grade Crossing Safety Assists the law enforcement community Safety tips and resources Strategies: Take 10, Save a Life Write Citations Consider grade crossings when rerouting highway traffic Operation Lifesaver, Inc. safety training and educational resources Ron
Program Improvement FRA released $10 M funding for States New Stakeholder: Nat’l Organizations for Youth Safety
Engineering FRA and FHWA will update the DOT Grade Crossing Handbook to provide guidance: engineering strategies risk assessment protective devices Traffic Preemption; practical tools for proper use/maintenance
Crossing Research
Education Operation Lifesaver Emergency Responders Funding $1.M in FY 2017 Training, PSA, State Grants Funding for new learning tools through R&D Emergency Responders Operation Lifesaver Last year FRA provided $1.025M to OLI - $300K to be used on PSA “Take Safety to Heart” – first target at the high 15 states – 70% of fatalities have occurred in these states Trainers – 8 Level 2 and 2 Level 3 GX mgrs. Work closely with OL state coordinators on many events such as blitz, officer-on-train, CMV Drivers Includes regular commercial motor vehicles and school buses Swift Trucking – 15,000 new drivers trained a year Several regional forums on GX safety Professional Sport Teams AZ Diamondbacks, Seattle Seahawks – OL Awareness Days, safety announcements, and player PSAs K-12 Lesson Plans Boy Scouts – merit badge and jamboree Milk Carton Public Safety Message – WA, OR, ND
Enforcement Focus Area National Working Group -Fully operational law enforcement working group Photo Enforcement -Automated enforcement at grade crossings pilot Three (soon to be four) educational first responders videos posted to fra.dot.gov
Enhanced Enforcement Guide to Best Practices and Resources for Grade Crossing Safety Assists the law enforcement community Safety tips and resources Strategies: Take 10, Save a Life Write Citations Consider grade crossings when rerouting highway traffic Operation Lifesaver, Inc. safety training and educational resources Ron
Program Improvement FRA released $10 M funding for States New Stakeholder: Nat’l Organizations for Youth Safety
Engineering FRA and FHWA will update the DOT Grade Crossing Handbook to provide guidance: engineering strategies risk assessment protective devices Traffic Preemption; practical tools for proper use/maintenance
Trespass Prevention Demographic Study Much younger than national norms - average age at death of approximately 38. Railroad fatalities are highly likely to be male (82 percent of the time). Drugs and/or alcohol are associated with approximately half of all railroad fatalities.
Trespass Prevention Future Activities Pilot trespass abatement study Research on the use of fencing New products Research on the use of low-cost technology 3rd Right-of-Way Fatality and Trespass Prevention Workshop held in 2015
Program Improvement FRA released $10 M funding for States New Stakeholder: Nat’l Organizations for Youth Safety
Trends in Fatalities At Grade Crossings, 2000 - 2016 Declining trend downward
Collisions, Fatalities, and Exposure Rail (million train miles) X Hwy Volume (trillion hwy miles) (=quadrillion) Orange bars - # collisions X 10 Red line – exposure – quadrillions Yellow line - # fatalities Large decrease in collisions & fatalities despite large increase in exposure. - Total exposure = 1979 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 711,549,906 2001 – Hwy traffic = 2,781,462,000,000 - Total Exposure = 2081 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 728,674,146 2002 – Hwy traffic = 2,856,000,000,000 (2002 data) - Total Exposure = 2141 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 743,491,689 2003 – Hwy traffic = 2,880,000,000,000 (2003 data) - Total Exposure = 2282 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 770,258,319 2004 – Hwy traffic = 2,963 billion (2004 data; http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/810623.pdf - 3-7-07)) - Total Exposure = 2344 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 790,491,238 2005 – Hwy traffic = 2,965 billion (2005 data; http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/810623.pdf - 3-7-07)) - Rail traffic = 809,044,888 http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2007/html/table_05_03.html) 2006 – Hwy traffic = 3,014 billion (2006 data; - Total Exposure = 2438 quadrillion 2007 – Hwy traffic = 3031 billion (2007 data; http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_35.html as of 3/20/12 - Total exposure = 2392 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 789,173,575 2008 – Hwy traffic = 2978 billion (2008 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure =2302 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 772,938,810 http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_35.html 2009 – Hwy traffic = 2953 billion (2009 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure = 1984 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 671,946,8061 2010 – Hwy traffic = 2953 billion (2009 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure = 2091 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 708,194,101 2011 – Hwy traffic = 2953 billion (2009 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure = 2129 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 720,503,904 - Rail traffic = 740,164,597 http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2011/vm202.cfm 2012 – Hwy traffic = 2946 (2011 data on 4/12/13) - Total exposure = 2180 quadrillion 2013 – Hwy traffic = 2946 (2011 data on 4/12/13) - Total exposure = 2202 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 747,444,507 Fatalities Collisions X 10
Trespass Prevention
Trespass Casualties By Year
Trespass Fatalities by Age (2014–2016)
Trespass & Suicide Fatalities 2012 - 2016
Grade Crossing Safety Initiatives and Accomplishments data, analysis, and research Tech companies partnerships Reviewing data trends engineering Updating the Grade Crossing Handbook education Operation Lifesaver, Inc. Improving FRA website enforcement First responder videos Law enforcement trade associations engagement Data, analysis, research: Partnering with four Tech Companies to map crossings; Reviewing data trends) Engineering: Updating the Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook (Grade Crossing Handbook) program improvement Notice of Funding Availability for STEP Grants Work with states designing safe crossings (HSIPR and TIGER grant funded)
Engineering FRA and FHWA will update the DOT Grade Crossing Handbook to provide guidance: engineering strategies risk assessment protective devices Traffic Preemption; practical tools for proper use/maintenance
Crossing Research
Data and Analysis Encourage data-driven, structured approaches Improving grade crossing location (lat/long) Enable turn-by-turn mapping technologies Crossing awareness during trip planning Analyzing crossing inventory and accident data identifies conditions: Types of drivers Behavior
Education Operation Lifesaver Emergency Responders Funding $1.M in FY 2017 Training, PSA, State Grants Funding for new learning tools through R&D Emergency Responders Operation Lifesaver Last year FRA provided $1.025M to OLI - $300K to be used on PSA “Take Safety to Heart” – first target at the high 15 states – 70% of fatalities have occurred in these states Trainers – 8 Level 2 and 2 Level 3 GX mgrs. Work closely with OL state coordinators on many events such as blitz, officer-on-train, CMV Drivers Includes regular commercial motor vehicles and school buses Swift Trucking – 15,000 new drivers trained a year Several regional forums on GX safety Professional Sport Teams AZ Diamondbacks, Seattle Seahawks – OL Awareness Days, safety announcements, and player PSAs K-12 Lesson Plans Boy Scouts – merit badge and jamboree Milk Carton Public Safety Message – WA, OR, ND
Enforcement Focus Area National Working Group -Fully operational law enforcement working group Photo Enforcement -Automated enforcement at grade crossings pilot Three (soon to be four) educational first responders videos posted to fra.dot.gov
Enhanced Enforcement Guide to Best Practices and Resources for Grade Crossing Safety Assists the law enforcement community Safety tips and resources Strategies: Take 10, Save a Life Write Citations Consider grade crossings when rerouting highway traffic Operation Lifesaver, Inc. safety training and educational resources Ron
Program Improvement FRA released $10 M funding for States New Stakeholder: Nat’l Organizations for Youth Safety
Engineering FRA and FHWA will update the DOT Grade Crossing Handbook to provide guidance: engineering strategies risk assessment protective devices Traffic Preemption; practical tools for proper use/maintenance
Trends in Fatalities At Grade Crossings, 2000 - 2016 Declining trend downward
Collisions, Fatalities, and Exposure Rail (million train miles) X Hwy Volume (trillion hwy miles) (=quadrillion) Orange bars - # collisions X 10 Red line – exposure – quadrillions Yellow line - # fatalities Large decrease in collisions & fatalities despite large increase in exposure. - Total exposure = 1979 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 711,549,906 2001 – Hwy traffic = 2,781,462,000,000 - Total Exposure = 2081 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 728,674,146 2002 – Hwy traffic = 2,856,000,000,000 (2002 data) - Total Exposure = 2141 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 743,491,689 2003 – Hwy traffic = 2,880,000,000,000 (2003 data) - Total Exposure = 2282 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 770,258,319 2004 – Hwy traffic = 2,963 billion (2004 data; http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/810623.pdf - 3-7-07)) - Total Exposure = 2344 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 790,491,238 2005 – Hwy traffic = 2,965 billion (2005 data; http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/810623.pdf - 3-7-07)) - Rail traffic = 809,044,888 http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2007/html/table_05_03.html) 2006 – Hwy traffic = 3,014 billion (2006 data; - Total Exposure = 2438 quadrillion 2007 – Hwy traffic = 3031 billion (2007 data; http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_35.html as of 3/20/12 - Total exposure = 2392 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 789,173,575 2008 – Hwy traffic = 2978 billion (2008 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure =2302 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 772,938,810 http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_35.html 2009 – Hwy traffic = 2953 billion (2009 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure = 1984 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 671,946,8061 2010 – Hwy traffic = 2953 billion (2009 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure = 2091 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 708,194,101 2011 – Hwy traffic = 2953 billion (2009 data on 3/20/12) - Total exposure = 2129 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 720,503,904 - Rail traffic = 740,164,597 http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2011/vm202.cfm 2012 – Hwy traffic = 2946 (2011 data on 4/12/13) - Total exposure = 2180 quadrillion 2013 – Hwy traffic = 2946 (2011 data on 4/12/13) - Total exposure = 2202 quadrillion - Rail traffic = 747,444,507 Fatalities Collisions X 10
Trespass Prevention Demographic Study Much younger than national norms - average age at death of approximately 38. Railroad fatalities are highly likely to be male (82 percent of the time). Drugs and/or alcohol are associated with approximately half of all railroad fatalities.
Trespass Prevention Future Activities Pilot trespass abatement study Research on the use of fencing New products Research on the use of low-cost technology 3rd Right-of-Way Fatality and Trespass Prevention Workshop held in 2015