Joyce Rose Addresses International Gathering Of Rail Safety Professionals
Vancouver, British Columbia —Today, Joyce Rose, president and CEO of Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) told attendees of the 23rd International Railway Safety Conference (IRSC) that rail safety education in the United States is growing and innovating to keep up with the times.
The National Research Council of Canada, Railway Association of Canada, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and other rail-related agencies organized this year’s conference. It convened rail safety professionals from around the globe to discuss issues, including technological advancements in safety, regulatory environments, transporting hazardous materials, suicide on railroad tracks and public safety education.
Rose said OLI is expanding its capacity and reaching new audiences through more modern tools, such as online education and social media. OLI is also revamping the way it trains volunteers to deliver rail safety messages.
“We know that no single demographic constitutes 100 percent of the incidents we see at grade crossings, along rail property and in transit stations across the country,” said Rose. “Operation Lifesaver must use a variety of outreach and educational tools to successfully motivate people to change their behavior.”
Operation Lifesaver began in 1972 as a six-week public relations campaign launched by Union Pacific Railroad in the state of Idaho and spread across the country to all 50 states. For years, the work of the organization involved free rail safety presentations to groups using tools like handouts and posters. Those materials and volunteers are still the backbone of the organization, but OLI is updating its outreach and educational approach in many areas.
“Training for our professional drivers and school bus drivers, for example, now comes through two really engaging and rigorous online simulators,” said Rose. “And we are inviting more young people to take the rail safety message to their peers. We also broadcast our safety messages around the clock on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.”
This year’s conference, which runs through Oct. 11, has a theme of “Enhancing Railway Safety through Innovation, Community Partnerships and Effective Safety Management,” and includes site visits, technical train tours and an exhibition hall where Mike Regimbal, of Operation Lifesaver Canada, will demonstrate the organization’s public safety awareness program.
About Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
Operation Lifesaver's mission is to end collisions, deaths and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and along railroad rights of way. A national network of trained volunteers provides free presentations on rail safety. Learn more at http://www.oli.org; follow OLI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagramand Pinterest
