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Safety Group Asks Media Not to Romanticize Dangerous Activity

Posted on: Friday, 23 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- As the National Press Photographers Association opens its 60th Annual Photojournalism Summit, the non-profit highway-rail safety group Operation Lifesaver (OL) is urging news media to refrain from romanticizing activities along railroad tracks in photographs and articles. In an effort to educate editors about the dangers they might overlook, OL has produced an educational four-color flyer that is being distributed to news, photo, and art editors across the country, as well as to advertising agencies and advertising media. It can be seen at http://www.oli.org/.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051121/NYM107LOGO )

"Every year, more than two thousand people lose their lives or suffer serious injury while on or beside train tracks," said Gerri Hall, president of OL. "Unfortunately, media stories and photographs often romanticize the rails and railroad rights of way -- inadvertently threatening the safety of not only their readers, viewers, and listeners, but also of their reporters and photographers."

Hall cited several recent examples of media accounts or photographs of bicycles racing to beat a train across a grade crossing, people illegally "hopping" freight trains, couples romantically strolling along live railroad tracks, and individuals interviewed trackside or while standing on active railroad tracks.

OL is a national, non-profit safety education group whose goal is to eliminate deaths and injuries at railroad crossings and along railroad rights of way. While the number of automobile-related fatalities at highway/railroad crossings has been reduced significantly in the 34 years OL has been making safety presentations across America, there is still work to be done. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, since the year 2000, more than 5,300 people have been killed or injured while trespassing on railroad tracks and railroad property.

Operation Lifesaver's 3,000 certified presenters throughout the U.S. and Canada are trained to give free safety talks to community groups, schools, school bus drivers, truck drivers and community organizations to raise awareness of the need for caution around railroad tracks and trains. More information can be found at http://www.oli.org/ or by calling 1-800-537-6224.

Contact: Marmie T. Edwards (703) 739-0284 or (800) 537-6224 medwards@oli.org

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051121/NYM107LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Operation Lifesaver

CONTACT: Marmie T. Edwards, +1-703-739-0284 or 1-800-537-6224,medwards@oli.org

Web site: http://www.oli.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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