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8/12/2015
Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) yesterday announced more than $204,000 in federal grants will be awarded to 13 State Operation Lifesaver programs to create rail-crossing safety awareness campaigns. The state groups’ public-awareness messages will help spread OLI’s ongoing national safety campaign known by the phrase: “See tracks? Think train!”Grant dollars will be awarded to Operation Lifesaver organizations in California, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. The state programs will use the funds to create safety messages via television, radio, sporting events and movie theatre advertising; create "eye-catching" displays for public education at large events; and target students, school bus drivers, Spanish-speaking populations and the news media to raise awareness about the dangers near tracks and trains, OLI officials said in a press release.The FHWA provides the grant funding, which complements similar grant programs with the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration."Through our partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, these grade crossing safety education activities will help us reach critical audiences in many of the states where these incidents are most prevalent," said OLI President and Chief Executive Officer Joyce Rose. The grants were awarded through a competitive process. The selection panel of safety experts used criteria such as how the programs would target their messaging and leverage the federal funds with private partnerships. The panel also looked at the frequency of highway-rail collisions in applying states.OLI plans to announce the results of a similar grant program for transit-rail safety education projects this fall.