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Friday, September 13, 2024

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Van Hollen introduces federal 'climate superfund' legislation; Trump campaigns in Western states as Harris focuses on critical Pennsylvania; Stalled Child Tax Credit leaves Ohio families in limbo; Federal funding drives PA's increase in electric school buses.

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Marjorie Taylor-Greene condemns remarks by a right-wing activist, immigrants to Ohio spark conspiracy theories and heated campaign controversies, and the Children's Defense Fund pushes for more attention to child poverty.

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Rural voters weigh competing visions about agriculture's future ahead of the Presidential election, counties where economic growth has lagged in rural America are booming post-pandemic, and farmers get financial help to protect their land's natural habitat.

Expert: People underestimate railroad collision risks

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Friday, September 29, 2023   

Utah saw 13 railroad-crossing collisions that included three fatalities in 2020, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Railroad Administration.

Every five days, a child in the United States is killed in a train collision, said Buck Russel, manager of public safety for Union Pacific Railroad. So, Safe Kids Worldwide has new resources and materials to help raise awareness for families to prevent railroad-related injuries and deaths involving children.

Since 2018, Russel said, there's been a 35% increase nationwide in the number of trespassing collisions on railroads. He explained that railroads are private property, so people on railroad tracks are considered trespassers - not pedestrians.

"It's not a place to take wedding pictures, graduation pictures, record albums," he said. "They have that nostalgia feeling, the train tracks, they continue on forever into the sunset. But when you get on the train tracks, you're exhibiting those bad behaviors that our little ones are going to pick up on."

Russel encouraged Utahns to slow down and look both ways when approaching a railroad track, and said to expect a train "in any direction at any time." He reminded people that freight trains don't run on set schedules as passenger trains do.

Russel said a recent report released by Safe Kids Worldwide found that a majority of parents don't realize the importance of addressing railroad safety, despite the alarming statistics. Whether it is a railroad crossing or a collision on the tracks, he said nearly all incidents are preventable.

"Approximately every three hours, either a person or a vehicle is struck in the United States," he said. "I know personally, when I pass it on to my family members, they're just, like, 'There is no way it can be every three hours.' And it, unfortunately, really does come down to that."

Russel said most of the collision incidents take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced it has awarded more than $1.4 billion to projects around the country to improve railway safety.


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