2011 National Statistics*

In 2010, at least 262 people were killed and 964 were seriously injured in 1,956 highway-rail grade crossing collisions (combined for public and private crossings).

• At least 428 people were killed and 346 were injured while trespassing on railroad rights-of-way and property.
• Approximately every two hours, either a vehicle or pedestrian is struck by a train in the United States. That’s 12 incidents each day!
• A motorist is 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a collision involving another motor vehicle.
• Average freight train stopping distance: 55 mph = a mile or more or at least 18 football fields!!
• The majority of highway-rail crashes occur when the train is traveling less than 30 mph.

* Incident data current through the end of December 31, 2011 provided by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Safety Tips

A typical locomotive weighs approximately 400,000 pounds or 200 tons. When 100 railcars are added to the locomotive, the train can weigh approximately 6,000 tons. The weight ratio of an automobile to a train is proportional to a soda can and an automobile.

Trains cannot stop quickly. It is a simple law of physics: the huge weight and size of the train and the speed of the train dictate how quickly it can stop under ideal conditions. A 100-car freight train traveling at 55 miles per hour will need more than a mile to stop — that's approximately 18 football fields — once the train is set into emergency braking.

Never walk down a train track; it's illegal and it's dangerous. By the time a locomotive engineer can see a trespasser or a vehicle on the tracks, it is too late. The train cannot stop quickly enough to avoid a collision. Remember: Rail and recreation do not mix!