Ohio Operation Lifesaver Receives Grant

Ohio Operation Lifesaver has been awarded a $20,000 grant from Operation Lifesaver Inc., (OLI) in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for rail crossing safety and anti-trespassing public education efforts as part of the nonprofit safety group’s ongoing “See Tracks? Think Train!” public awareness campaign. Federal statistics show that about every three hours, a person or vehicle is hit by a train in the U.S.

Ohio ranks 9 nationally for pedestrian-train incidents, with 30 deaths and injuries during 2014. In addition, Ohio is also a top ten state for train-vehicle collisions. In 2014, there were 86 incidents at grade crossing between a train and vehicle making Ohio 8th in the nation for such incidents.

The state program will use the funding to spread “See Tracks? Think Train!” safety messages via radio, movie theatre advertising, digital media outreach and community events. The focus of the program will be the greater Cleveland area. The goal is to raise awareness about the dangers near tracks and trains in Ohio.

“This grant allows us to promote the “See Tracks? Think Train!” campaign and further our mission of eliminating collisions, injuries and deaths at crossings and along rail property,” said Gena Miller Shelton, state coordinator. “We are grateful to the Federal Railroad Administration for facilitating this much-needed effort to improve safety in our state.”

The grant was awarded through a competitive process with criteria that included the ability to leverage federal funds with private partnerships, targeted messaging, and the frequency of pedestrian-train incidents and highway-rail collisions in the state.