Operation Lifesaver, Inc. Awards Nearly $200,000 for Crossing Safety Public Awareness Campaigns in 10 States

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 12, 2026 – Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded $197,999 in competitive crossing safety awareness grants to Operation Lifesaver programs in 10 states. 

The FHWA-funded grants were awarded to Operation Lifesaver organizations in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas and will be used for a variety of crossing safety public education projects and campaigns. Many of these campaigns include messaging during See Tracks? Think Train!® Week, September 21-27, 2026.

“We’re proud to support our State Programs as they bring these innovative rail safety education projects to life,” said OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh. “Our State Coordinators are on the front lines, delivering creative, community-based outreach that helps people understand the importance of making safe choices around tracks and trains. We’re grateful to the Federal Highway Administration for its continued partnership in advancing this lifesaving work.”

"Under Secretary Duffy’s leadership, the U.S. Department of Transportation is prioritizing the safety of American families by modernizing our transportation networks," said FHWA Administrator Sean McMaster. "The FHWA is proud to support these grants, which promote public awareness to stay alert and obey signals. This effort bolsters the Trump Administration’s focus on building overpasses and upgrading technology to drastically reduce the 2,000 annual crossing incidents and protect travelers and workers alike."

Maleh added, “We encourage everyone to connect with OLI on social media, request a free rail safety education presentation and explore resources at oli.org. Together, we can #STOPTrackTragedies and save lives.”

Projects funded by the FHWA grants include:

• California Operation Lifesaver will run a targeted highway-rail grade crossing and trespass prevention campaign from June 1 through July 31, 2026, timed to coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup. California is hosting 14 matches, 8 in Los Angeles County and 6 in Santa Clara County. Using geofencing, Connected TV (CTV), Over-the-Top (OTT), digital display and digital radio platforms, the campaign will deliver location-based safety messaging near stadiums, fan festivals, transit hubs and public viewing areas, reaching both residents and international visitors. Messaging will emphasize the Emergency Notification System (ENS) sign, multiple-track awareness, obeying signals and gates and avoiding distractions.
• Illinois Operation Lifesaver (IL OL) will engage young and middle-aged adults in a targeted rail safety education campaign from June through September 2026 in Cook County communities with documented rail incident histories, including Chicago, Cicero, Berwyn, Brookfield, Blue Island, Dolton, Harvey and Lemont. The initiative combines volunteer-led in-person education, high-visibility billboard advertising and geo-targeted digital outreach featuring ENS sign awareness, See Tracks? Think Train® Week materials and public service announcements (PSAs) from Illinois Operation Lifesaver’s I Witnessed video series. Outreach will align with ENS Sign Awareness Day on June 24 and See Tracks? Think Train® Week.
• Indiana Operation Lifesaver will launch a comprehensive rail safety education initiative in Northwest Indiana, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Muncie and Evansville to reduce railroad crossing collisions and fatalities. The campaign will deliver digital outreach, community engagement, tangible ENS-branded materials and dispatcher training to reach audiences where they live, work, commute and consume media. Messaging will prominently feature the ENS Blue and White PSA, emphasizing safe crossing behavior, compliance with warning devices and the importance of calling 911 in emergencies.
• Kansas Operation Lifesaver will implement a comprehensive, statewide, agriculture-focused highway-rail grade crossing safety campaign designed specifically to reach farmers, ranchers and rural drivers through trusted agricultural media, rural radio networks and on-site community distribution to increase awareness of safe crossing behaviors, reduce risky decision-making around trains and reinforce Operation Lifesaver safety messages among audiences with the highest exposure to rural rail crossings during peak planting and harvest periods.
• Louisiana Operation Lifesaver will execute a data-driven rail safety education campaign targeting high-risk parishes identified through Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) collision data, including East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Caddo, Bossier, Calcasieu, Tangipahoa, St. John the Baptist, St. James, Jefferson, Red River and Ouachita to reduce highway-rail grade crossing collisions and injuries. The campaign combines targeted PSAs, geo-targeted digital outreach, structured professional driver presentations, bilingual windshield clings and printed educational materials to reach motorists, commercial drivers, school bus operators and emergency responders during peak travel periods and See Tracks? Think Train® Week.
• Missouri Operation Lifesaver will launch a statewide rail safety education campaign through radio, digital, social and community channels, educating motorists, commuters, youth, pedestrians, families, professional drivers, rural and farm equipment drivers and FIFA World Cup visitors about the dangers of trespassing on railroad tracks. The initiative focuses on high-risk areas, large events and peak travel periods, including See Tracks? Think Train® Week and Missouri Farm Safety Week and the World Cup, driving awareness of crossing safety, trespass prevention and responsible behavior near tracks.
• New Jersey Operation Lifesaver’s September 2026 targeted billboard campaign will leverage repetition to increase message retention, delivering high-visibility rail safety education to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Partnering with New Jersey Transit, the initiative that includes See Tracks? Think Train® Week will reinforce messaging through in-person safety blitzes at train stations, distributing bilingual materials to encourage safe behavior and reduce rail-related incidents across the state.
• North Carolina Operation Lifesaver will educate professional drivers through a multi-component rail safety education campaign featuring targeted geofencing at nine Welcome Centers, radio PSAs and outreach at towing, trucking and driver training events. Messaging emphasizes ENS sign awareness and low-clearance crossings, with distribution of updated OLI rail safety education video materials, brochures, posters and rack cards to professional drivers, training schools and community colleges from June through See Tracks? Think Train® Week.
• South Carolina Operation Lifesaver (SCOL) will launch a multifaceted rail safety education and enforcement campaign in Richland County, focusing on Columbia and University of South Carolina (USC) football audiences during peak travel and tailgating periods. The campaign is in partnership with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, local law enforcement, campus police, the South Carolina Department of Transportation and USC Athletics. SCOL will deliver digital outreach through 30-second in-game radio ads throughout the season on the Gamecock Radio Network and will host an in-person rail safety tailgate activation during a home football game aligned with See Tracks? Think Train® Week. Messaging will highlight the ENS sign PSA and promote safe driving practices to engage motorists, tailgaters and listeners statewide.
• Texas Operation Lifesaver will activate a multi-platform rail safety campaign during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston and North Texas, where Texas ranks first in the nation for railroad crossing collisions and second in total casualties. The initiative will combine digital and audio outreach as well as messaging in bars and restaurants and at Houston Metro and Trinity Metro stations. Messaging will be strategically placed within sports podcasts and radio programming to reach individuals traveling for the World Cup as well as those closely following the games, emphasizing the dangers of walking near tracks, and the importance of obeying warning signals and understanding the ENS sign. The campaign aims to reach sports fans at critical decision points both during and after events to reduce collisions and rail-related injuries. 

The approved grants were awarded through a competitive process, with selection based on criteria such as the defined safety need, the number of highway-rail collisions in the state and how the proposal leverages federal funds with private partnerships.

About Operation Lifesaver

Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) is a national #RailSafetyEducation nonprofit dedicated to stopping track tragedies through public awareness and education campaigns as well as a national volunteer network that gives free presentations encouraging safe behavior near tracks and trains. OLI supports the efforts of 47 state programs and the District of Columbia in sharing the rail safety education message. Visit oli.org to learn more, take a rail safety pledge, request free presentations, volunteer and explore OLI's virtual library of rail safety education materials. Follow OLI on social media via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X and YouTube.