Saturday, July 11, 2015

Railroad Trespass Fatalities Are Increasing: Union Pacific urges veto to repealing trespass law


WISCONSIN



Union Pacific Railroad is urging Gov. Scott Walker to veto a section of the budget bill that would repeal Wisconsin’s railroad trespass law.

The change in the law comes as deaths from pedestrian trespassing is on the rise in the U.S. According to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety, death from pedestrian trespassing on railroad tracks rose 21.8 percent in 2014.

The rail trespass casualty rate (deaths and injuries for every one million train miles) is 1.23, its highest level for the last decade.

“The most troubling safety problem — trespass fatalities — arises from factors outside railroad control,” said Mark Davis of Union Pacific. “While railroads have reduced employee casualty rates by 84 percent since 1980, and derailments have dropped 82 percent since 1980 to a new low, trespass fatalities are up.”

A person or vehicle is hit by a train about every three hours in the United States. In the last five years, Union Pacific has experienced eight trespasser injuries and 10 trespasser fatalities on Union Pacific property in the state of Wisconsin.

Repealing or relaxing this statute could bring unintended consequences of increasing rail trespassing incidents, and is regressive on the positive rail safety efforts taken to date, Davis said.

Trespassing on private railroad property is illegal in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Since 2009, three states adopted railroad trespass laws. Despite these laws, trespass is the leading cause of rail-related deaths in America. 

Repealing or relaxing Wisconsin’s railroad trespass law will put the safety of Wisconsin citizens at risk and is the wrong message to send, Davis said.