SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — City of Suffolk officials are going to be pushing out more messages about railroad crossing safety after a recent increase in train vehicle collisions.
On Tuesday, the Suffolk Police Department posted a minute long PSA to their Facebook page reminding drivers of the basics about driving over rail grade crossings.
In a roughly mile stretch downtown, the Norfolk Southern mainline crosses seven roads. Since Nov. 20, three vehicles have been struck by a trains, leaving two people with serious injuries.
“Trains do not stop on a dime,” said Tim Kelly, spokesperson for the department. “We want everyone who leaves home or leaves their place of employment to get back to where they need to get to, safely and secure.”
The speed limit for trains through the city is 60 mph and is set by the railroads themselves.
Kelly said in several incidents they have seen drivers, bikers and pedestrians try to go around the crossing gates after they start closing, or already have come down across the road.
“The gates are there for a reason,” Kelly said. “Just be patient, I know we all want to rush and go and this is the age of instant, not the age of wait.”
The problem isn’t new. There have now been six collisions along the tracks in the last year.
“[Suffolk] is an area that we see a continuation of people not making good decisions at crossings,” said William Miller, Norfolk Southern’s public safety director back in September.
It was then Miller announced that the railroad was partnering with WAZE — the traffic navigation app.
The app sends drivers and pedestrians a custom railroad alert through the app when they’re near a crossing.
“We ask people to think through their decisions, not only this holiday season, but every time they approach a railroad crossing,” Miller said in a statement about the latest incidents. “There is never an excuse to drive around a lowered crossing gate; it is illegal and careless. If a vehicle becomes stalled on the tracks, the driver should get out of the vehicle immediately and call the telephone number located on the blue and white Emergency Notification Sign (posted at every railroad crossing) to report the situation so it can be safely addressed.”
