– Teach your kids about Train Safety

Boy Falls on Tracks
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 12-year-old boy was killed while crossing the train tracks at Tecumseh Street and U.S. 75. Richard Brow apparently slipped and fell, and was unable to get up in time before he was struck by the train. (USA Today, 3-9-2012, p. 5A)

Autistic Boy Hit By Train
In Graham, North Carolina, a 10 year old boy with autism wandered away from his home and was then struck and killed by a train.  Police say they had just begun looking for the boy when they heard about the accident. (USA Today, 5-27-2008, p. 9A)

Five Year-year-old Hit by Train
In Spanish Fork, Utah. A five-year-old boy that was hit by a freight train has died. Authorities say the boy was among 3 young children who were playing around the tracks on Sunday when the train passed by at about 40 m.p.h.  (USA Today, 11-11-2014, p. 4A)

Safety Lesson: Many kids assume that trains stay “on the tracks” but many trains — and freight trains especially — can hang as far as 10 feet off the side of the tracks in either direction. Making things more dangerous, some cars on the train may be wider than others.  Make sure your kids know this and understand that they need to stay well away from the train tracks whenever a train is approaching.

Kids Killed by Trains While Listening to Music with Headphones On

Sixth-grader Didn’t Hear Train
11-year-old Joey Kramer, a sixth-grader at Longfellow middle school, was wearing headphones when he was struck and killed by a freight train. He apparently did not hear the train coming. (USA Today, 2-29-2012, 7A)

Girl Wearing Head Phones
In Haines City, Florida, an 11-year-old girl who was fiddling with her pone and wearing head phones at the time was struck and killed by an Amtrak train.(USA Today, 1-9-2018, 4A)