0. Remarks by Joyce C. Rose, President, Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
Good morning. This presentation will demonstrate how the U.S.-based Operation Lifesaver program is greatly expanding its capacity for public rail safety education through online education, social media, and strategic partnering. Operation Lifesaver is also making important changes in its volunteer training and how we make our rail safety education materials available to the public. Finally, the organization has also broadened its target audience focus to more actively engage with transit agencies, to ensure that the same safety messages are conveyed to transit riders and communities that have rail transit systems in their midst. Our hope is that these changes will help us be a more effective and efficient organization and reach more people with our safety message.
Innovations in Rail Safety Education and Awareness in the United States October 7, 2013 – International Railway Safety Conference, Vancouver BC
Remarks by Joyce C. Rose, President, Operation Lifesaver, Inc.

1. Celebrating 40 Years of Safety
Last year was Operation Lifesaver’s 40th anniversary. This image is the front of the “challenge coin” that we made to commemorate the anniversary.
In the four decades since its founding, Operation Lifesaver has expanded throughout the United States and internationally, with programs in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Great Britain and Estonia. Through it all, the mission of the program remains paramount: Saving lives and reducing injuries at railroad crossings and on and around railroad property.
Operation Lifesaver began in 1972 as a six-week public relations campaign launched by Union Pacific Railroad in the state of Idaho. That year, there were approximately 12,000 crossing collisions in the United States. As a result of the Operation Lifesaver campaign, grade crossing-related fatalities dropped by 43 percent. Word of this success spread to other states, which began introducing their own public education safety programs; today there are functioning OL programs in all 50 states.
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) was established in 1986, and serves as the program’s nonprofit national support center.

2. Operation Lifesaver Presentations & Activities
Today, Operation Lifesaver reaches approximately 2.7 million people a year through a combination of face-to-face presentations and special events. Operation Lifesaver provides customized face-to-face presentations by trained volunteers to school groups, drivers education classes, community audiences, professional drivers, law enforcement officers, and emergency responders. Additionally, OL volunteers set up safety information booths at community events throughout their states – fairs, parades, grand openings, the zoo, and special train-related events.

3. Connect with us – www.oli.org
In 40 years, technology has greatly changed the way that people access information. Online communication and social media have become vitally important outreach tools for Operation Lifesaver. The organization’s our online presence has been growing significantly. In the past year, there were almost 135,000 visits to Operation Lifesaver, Inc.’s website, and in the past month alone, Facebook posts have been shared almost 50,000 times. We also have more than 1,600 Twitter followers.
Over the past 12 months, OL’s web traffic has grown by 30%, the number of Facebook friends has increased by 68%, and Twitter followers have more than doubled.
I would love for you to add to these numbers. In fact, take out your smart phones right now, and send a Facebook message or tweet – maybe, “I’m learning about Operation Lifesaver’s rail safety education program at IRSC in Vancouver right now – wish I was bicycling in Stanley Park!” (That’s exactly 140 characters, so I’ll wait while you type that in.)
Facebook:
Pinterest:
Instagram:

4. U.S. Crossing Safety Improvements
Operation Lifesaver’s safety education efforts have contributed to an amazing success story, as rail crossing collisions in the U.S. have declined by 83 percent over the last 40 years. Those gains came from closing unneeded crossings, improvements in crossing warning devices, increased enforcement of traffic laws, and the educational efforts of Operation Lifesaver and its safety partners.

5. U.S. Crossing & Trespass Statistics
National Overview
Category
2011
2012
Jan.-June ’12 vs. ‘13
Crossing Collisions
2,060
1,967
964
1,007
Crossing Deaths
271
273
145
146
Crossing Injuries
1,040
946
433
443
Trespass Deaths
412
434
195
245
Trespass Injuries
367
411
221
204
This table shows updated rail safety statistics for the U.S. through June In the first 6 months of this year, total crossing collisions are up 4.5% over the same period in 2012; crossing deaths were flat and crossing injuries were up about 2.3%. Trespass deaths rose 25%; trespass injuries dropped approximately 8%. This is only part of the picture, and it is impossible to predict whether, by the end of 2013, the total number of crossing collisions will be lower than in 2012 – consistent with the overall trend – or whether trespass casualties will continue to go up. However, it is clear that Operation Lifesaver and other safety partners have more work to do.
Source: Federal Railroad Administration preliminary statistics

6. Pedestrian Challenges Remain
As is the case in many other countries, pedestrian-rail trespass incidents (deaths and injuries combined) have been a stubborn safety problem, and have not seen the same level of improvement as grade crossing incidents have.
In 2012, there were a total of 712 non-employee fatalities on the general railway system – 442 (62%) of those deaths were trespass incidents, and 270 (38%) occurred at grade crossings.
In fact, every year since 1997, more people have been killed while trespassing on tracks than from vehicle-train collisions at railroad crossings.
It should also be noted that all these statistics only reflect what is going on in the general railway system – freight railroads, Amtrak and commuter rail. Safety data from other passenger rail like light rail, subway and streetcars are not included in these statistics because they are gathered by a different federal agency, and the data organization and standards are different.

7. .
Goals and Priorities
To renew the OLI organization and meet today’s safety challenges, we will:
Raise awareness of the Operation Lifesaver brand
Increase focus on growing safety issues in passenger rail and rail transit safety
Expand the audience for Operation Lifesaver's safety message
I have only been on board with Operation Lifesaver for 10 months, though in my 25-year career on Capitol Hill as a transportation policy staffer, I was always aware and supportive of OL’s safety mission. As President of Operation Lifesaver, Inc., I have established three immediate priorities for Operation Lifesaver’s national program: 1. Raise awareness of the Operation Lifesaver brand by forging partnerships with national transportation and safety organizations
2. Increase focus on growing safety issues in passenger rail and rail transit safety while continuing freight rail safety efforts 3. Expand the audience for Operation Lifesaver's safety message through greater use of digital communications, e-learning, and social media.

8. Raising Awareness - Partnerships
Part of raising awareness about Operation Lifesaver comes through working with our national safety partners – here are some of them. Our financial partners are the U.S. DOT (FRA, FHWA and FTA), the American Class 1 railroads and Amtrak, the Association of American Railroads, and the Railway Supply Institute.
We are expanding our outreach to national transportation and safety organizations in order to: raise OLI’s profile, and more broadly disseminate OL’s safety message.

9. Raising Awareness – 2014 National Safety Campaign
See Tracks --
THINK Train!
On the first goal, this slogan will be the basis for a national rail safety awareness campaign in 2014 and 2015 – an OLI/AAR joint project. The plan is to have a unified and sustained national safety PR campaign underpinned by coordinated OL education, enforcement and awareness activities. We want this to be the “Got Milk?” campaign for rail safety.
AAR and OLI are developing “toolkits” for state programs that will include all the key campaign elements – logo and graphics, a separate campaign website, public service announcements, press releases and letters to the editor. AAR’s PR consultant will assist OL State Coordinators and other partners in scheduling local interviews and getting the word out to all major media markets. OLI will work to assist regions with funding for coordinated safety education, enforcement and outreach activities that will support the national campaign at the local level, as it is rolled out across the country.
We hope that other countries will coordinate with the U.S. and pick up on the safety campaign.

10. Passenger Rail and Transit Safety
In 2012, Amtrak ridership reached a record 31.2 million passengers in 2012; transit ridership reached 10.5 billion passenger trips
FTA has new safety oversight responsibility under MAP-21 – OLI will be involved in helping shape that new role
OLI recently awarded $190,000 in transit safety education grants to 8 transit agencies around the country
Passenger rail and rail transit safety are a very important part of OLI’s mission. In the U.S., passenger rail and transit are experiencing ridership growth. New light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar systems are being built around the country. More rail transit service increases the risk of crossing collisions, car-transit vehicle incidents, and pedestrian strikes.
The Federal Transit Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation has been given new safety oversight responsibilities under last year’s transportation authorization bill, MAP-21, and OLI is participating in the implementation of this new program to ensure that rail crossing and pedestrian safety issues are considered in the new transit safety oversight program.
In August, OLI announced 8 grants of $20-$25 thousand apiece to transit agencies around the country, utilizing FTA funds. These grants will fund a variety of transit safety education activities and awareness campaigns, ranging from youth-produced safety videos to online and social media safety campaigns, bus and train wraps, billboards, safety curricula for schools, and community law enforcement training.

11. Passenger Rail and Transit Safety
Examples of past OLI transit safety campaigns in partnership with transit agencies:
In addition to our recent transit safety education grants, many of which are geared toward online, social media, and video-based safety messages, over the years, OLI has funded traditional billboard and sign safety campaigns with transit agencies. Examples of previously funded grants:
New Jersey Transit outreach to young drivers
MARTA and Georgia OL campaign to target distracted pedestrians
Austin Metro and Texas OL bilingual outreach before new commuter rail system began revenue service
Salt Lake City transit safety symposium attended by FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff, billboards, TV & radio PSA’s
Denton County Transportation Authority’s “Consider the Impact” campaign for new commuter rail
Memphis Trolley/Tennessee OL outreach campaign, focused on pedestrian safety awareness

12. Expanding the Audience: Transition to OLAV
New Outreach
Convert education programs, including presenter certification program, to web-based volunteer training.
Make greater use of digital technology, social media, and e- Learning to differentiate the OL brand, increase public awareness and deliver education campaigns.
Current OL Outreach:
50 State programs
1,400 presenters
1.2 M people reached in 2012 presentations
The third part of Operation Lifesaver’s big picture goals is to expand the audience for our safety messages, and find ways to reach more people more efficiently. One aspect of this is the new Operation Lifesaver Authorized Volunteer (OLAV) program, which is replacing our current “Certified Presenter” system of training and tracking volunteers.
2013 has been our rollout year for OLAV, and 2014 will be our transition year. Over the next 15 months, all our current Certified Presenters will become Authorized Volunteers. They will still make face-to-face presentations to all our traditional target audiences, but now the safety message embedded directly in the presentation materials, leaving less room for personal interpretation or going off-message. Many of the educational materials will be web-based, with video, animated slides, and interactive e-Learning activities playing a prominent role. All of these materials will also be available online, so it won’t be necessary to attend an Operation Lifesaver presentation in order to get the OL safety message.
By January 2015, we will be fully transitioned to this new safety education program.

13. Expanding the Audience: Volunteers
We also hope to greatly expand our volunteer numbers, particularly by reaching out to teens and young adults. Most U.S. high schools require completion of volunteer service hours for graduation – becoming an Operation Lifesaver volunteer is a natural fit.
I hope that all of you here today – at least the U.S. residents – will become OLAV’s! It’s easy and fun to complete the online e-Learning authorized volunteer training. The web link is: oli.org/training/volunteer-for-oli.
OL CERTIFIED PRESENTERS ARE NOW
OPERATION LIFESAVER AUTHORIZED VOLUNTEERS (OLAVs)

14. Expanding the Audience: E-Learning
Another way of expanding the audience is developing tools to reach more of our traditional audiences – through technology such as e-Learning.
Operation Lifesaver’s ProDriver Challenge is a videogame-type interactive training tool that teaches truck drivers safe practices at crossings. Before the release of this award-winning e-Learning course, Operation Lifesaver delivered only in-person railroad safety training to professional truck drivers. This online simulator activity ensures that users make active choices, rather than listening passively to a presentation. Since this training tool was launched, more than 12,500 users have taken the challenge.

15. Expanding the Audience: School Bus Drivers
We are currently finalizing a new e-Learning module for school bus drivers, so that many more drivers can receive OLI safety training online.
The new school bus driver e-Learning program will be publicly announced at the National Association of Pupil Transportation annual conference in Grand Rapids on October 23rd, and we will work with the NAPT and the private school bus contractors at the National School Transportation Association to help spread the word about the program’s availability, and hope to have the training program integrated into school bus driver training programs throughout the country.
Coming soon –
School Bus Driver e-Learning

16. Our Mission is the Same
This is the reverse side of the commemorative Operation Lifesaver 40th anniversary challenge coin. The mission of saving lives is shared, not only by the thousands of Operation Lifesaver volunteers in the U.S., Canada, and throughout the world, but also by everyone here at this conference today, and the organizations that you represent.
Operation Lifesaver will honor its history of grassroots, community-based volunteer efforts. These volunteers will be given new tools to more effectively engage their audiences and reinforce the safety message, and we will use the new tools of online technology to dramatically expand that audience. Operation Lifesaver will continue to work to prevent collisions, injuries and fatalities on and around railroad tracks and highway-rail grade crossings on the national railway system and transit systems.
We look forward to exchanging information and working cooperatively with the international rail safety community to amplify and strengthen our organization’s rail safety advocacy. Thank you, and enjoy the beautiful city of Vancouver and the remainder of the 23rd International Railway Safety Conference.