CTA Public Service Campaign Warns Riders To Stay Off The Tracks
By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 16, 2013 4:40PM
Chicago Transit Authority launched a public service campaign warning riders that jumping on the tracks could prove fatal. We didn’t think this was necessary but, according to the agency, reports of people on the tracks and fatalities related to people being on the rails were up in 2012 over 2011.
CTA reported 349 instances of people bounding on the tracks last year, up from 336 two years ago. There were 11 on-track deaths reported in 2012, up from nine in 2011. Right of way incidents on CTA’s rail system have risen every year since 2010.
It should surprise few that many of those cases involve people willingly leaving train platforms to retrieve dropped smartphones or other belongings. Sorry, folks, but an iPhone isn’t worth jumping onto the tracks. You can get them replaced or maybe you should hold on to them tighter.
CTA warns that trains can reach speeds of up to 55 MPH and that electrified third rail is coursing with 600 volts of electricity; touching it will kill you. The agency has some suggestions for being safe near the tracks:
- Stand behind the blue edge of the platform until a train has come to a complete stop at the station.
- If you drop anything on the tracks, use the call box or contact a CTA employee or the conductor of the train.
- Don’t goof off or grabass at a train station.