For the fifth year in a row, Safe Communities Humboldt and Area is shining a spotlight on rail safety for the November Safe Crossings month.
“We’re working with all the elementary schools in the area,” said Tracey Schewciw, program coordinator for Safe Communities Humboldt and Area. “We’re offering them a curriculum to teach kindergarten to Grade 6 all around trains, rail lines, and controlled and uncontrolled crossings.”
The curriculum will include things such as how long it takes a train to stop distance-wise because of speed, trespassing on rail property, and dangers around rail lines. The lesson plans will include learning objectives, evaluations, and follow-up activities for teachers to use at a later date. They fit into the English, health & life, science, physical education and social studies courses.
The package itself is offered every year to school with some updates, but the message of rail safety remains the same. The reason it’s drilled into students every year is because people continue to make the same mistakes.
“I think it’s that whole, ‘it’s not going to happen to me’ thing. They don’t realize trains can’t stop as quickly as they can,” said Shewciw. “Not paying attention is also a big thing, wearing headphones, texting while walking or driving. Injuries happen when they’re distracted … also, they see a train and they think they can beat it.”
It’s not just people’s distracted behaviour that can be dangerous either. Even mild mischief can be very dangerous. According to Shewciw, when people put stuff on the tracks, it causes damage to the trains that can later become more serious.
“Then there’s trespassing on rail property. People get themselves in situations that they shouldn’t,” she said. “There are a lot of dangers in the rail yard. People aren’t watching for (trespassers) in a rail site. There are lots of vehicles and trains going back and forth and they’re not watching for people because they shouldn’t have to.”
Luckily, the Humboldt area hasn’t experienced any major rail incidents with injuries. The difficult thing with that, however, is that it makes measuring the success of the rail safety program difficult to measure.
“I think we’re safe to say because we’re making such a big deal, we are making a difference,” said Shewciw. “There are areas where there are more trains where more injuries happen.”
Shewciw said they hope that by educating kids while they’re young, they’ll absorb the teachings and in turn influence their parents and friends. For this reason, Safe Communities will be hosting a presentation at the Humboldt Uniplex on Nov. 25 for Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Dominic School, Humboldt Public School, and Muenster School. A CN constable will be coming out that day to give a one-hour presentation.
“Get them while they’re young and hopefully they’ll maintain their safety attitude and behaviour when they’re older,” said Shewciw.
