"He was unbelievably lucky and didn't lose any limbs and will be fine," said Claudia Howell, Oregon state coordinator for Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit train awareness organization.

The largest amount of accidents occur due to trespassing on the rail lines.

According to Howell, there has been a reduction in areas that have been fenced in, but local youth passing through the freight yard are still a problem. All the rail lines are
private property. With the exception of intersections, the public should not be near a railroad track at all. In fact, it is the highest class of misdemeanor and could result in a year in jail.

Parrish Middle School is an area that has engineers and conductors worried each time they pass. In response, Operation Lifesaver is preparing ciriculum targeted at that age group. They're also working on getting a safety DVD into every middle school throughout Oregon.
Howell says that when looking at a train head-on, there is an optical illusion that makes it appear as though it is not moving or is moving very slowly.

"This has been a main cause of accidents because people have tried to cross an intersection thinking that the train has stopped," she said.

One simple way of avoiding this mishap is to heed warning lights when they are flashing or stop when the gate is down.

"Stopping on the tracks for any reason is also an unnecessary risk," Howell said.

According to the DMV handbook, fines for crossing violations can range from $97 to $242, or, of course, death.

If you are waiting on the sidewalk for the train to pass, be sure that you are far enough from the tracks to allow the train to pass. The train hangs over the rail and accidents have occurred from pedestrians misgauging the amount of room that the train needs around the rails.

Contrary to what is shown in the movies, trains cannot stop on a dime. According to Howell, an average train going 35 miles per hour takes three quarters of a mile to come to an emergency stop.

"Crews have to consider the cargo that they are carrying on whether they can stop that quick or not. Stopping too fast can cause derailment."

Many train crews involved in accidents have reported seeing the frantic eyes of someone looking up at them as they are hit by the train. Unfortunately by this time the train crew cannot do anything to stop the accident from happening.

Operation Lifesaver will have volunteers at the Oregon Steam-Up at Powerland Museum on August 2 and 3. If you're interested in receiving a training session from Operation Lifesaver for your neighborhood association, youth group, or classroom visit operationlifesaver.com.