(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following story is a news analysis that addresses railroad crossing safety following a recent truck-train collision at a crossing in downtown Thomson) .
Railroad crossing safety should be everyone's concern.
Although no one was injured when a dump truck collided with a CSX coal train traveling along a crossing at the intersection of Hendricks and Greenway streets in Thomson last month, it's certainly no justification to forget about the importance of safety.
In that crash, the truck driver was determined to be at fault, according to Thomson Police Department Sgt. Jammie Smith.
Motorists should never try to beat a train or go through the arms of a railroad crossing -- not even if it's in an emergency situation.
The reason is simple: It could get you killed or critically injured.
The same applies to pedestrians. They should stay clear of tracks when trains are approaching -- not jump onboard slow moving box cars or cross the tracks when a train is slow moving or stopped.
Again, it's a dangerous move and shouldn't be contemplated.
Georgia ranks sixth in the nation for railroad crossing collisions, based on the latest 2008 statistics from officials with the Federal Railroad Administration. During that year, there were 108 mishaps involving vehicles and trains in Georgia.
That year, officials reported that 286 persons were killed in vehicle-train crashes. In Georgia that year, eight people died.
For more information about railroad crossing safety, visit the Operation Lifesaver Web site at www.oli.org.
