Railroad Trespassing — Homeland Security
Per the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) — an average of 500 people are killed in railroad-trespasser incidents each year. Between 2005 and 2010, there were approximately 2,800 trespasser fatalities.
Rail trespassers are most often pedestrians walking across or along railroad tracks as a shortcut. The railroad industry identifies these people as trespassers as they are on railroad property illegally.
In just the Washington DC, Maryland, Virgina area 107 people have been killed or injured in the last 3 years
This problem effect all areas of the country — The FRA Trespassers map can be used to search by lat and long (GPS) as well as region/state/county.
In 2014 California ranked the highest with 145 total trespassing events — 93 resulting in deaths and 52 in injuries. (According to Operation Lifesaver)
A study commissioned by the FRA shows that rail trespassers who die are, on average, White males who are possibly intoxicated, with a mean age of 38, and with low socioeconomic status. This study analyzed medical examiner data from 2005 to 2010 to build a demographic data set on trespassers.
Stopping / Preventing
The FRA and the railroads perform an enormous amount of outreach as part of prevention and education campaigns combined with engineering and enforcement
Engineering — Improving barriers and building overpasses.
Education — School-based education, public service announcements, signs, and pamphlets.
Enforcement — Patrols, fines, and legislative efforts
So if you live near railroad tracks — If you have family that does — Do you / Do they take a short cut across or along the tracks.
