NJ TRANSIT GOES BACK TO SCHOOL TO PROMOTE RAIL SAFETY (PR)

NJ TRANSIT will continue its outreach efforts to promote railroad safety in November with presentations at 11 grade schools throughout the state, reaching approximately 3,500 children.

Nationally recognized rail safety presenter Betsy Stern will discuss with students important safety rules for trains, railroad tracks and grade crossings. The one-hour presentation, tailored for different age groups, will also include a video presentation and a question-and-answer session.

Stern was recently recognized by Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit railroad safety organization, as one of the top rail safety presenters in the nation. In the past 12 months, Stern has presented at 105 New Jersey schools and reached 38,000 students.

http://www.njtransit.com/nn_press_relea ... SE_ID=1534

I remember having that program when I was in grade school. I was so excited because it was about trains- but I was horrified by the end of it. They played for us the video "Chicken on the Tracks." In it, a boy and a girl get run over by an Arrow train. Pretty horrifying to a third grader like myself back then.

The lady also told other stories such as a man trying to catch a train by jumping on it after it departed and getting his foot cut off, a man trying to get a free ride by climbing on top of a train and getting caught on fire etc. The lady told it like it was- she got the point across. The point was even more poignant to some teachers at the school as a kid who was in the 4th grade class 4 years eariler was killed while walking the tracks in Berkeley Heights. So there was still an open womb in that respect.

The Chicken on the Tracks video,believe it or not, was taken in the same township where I live, but on the other side. My brother actually went to that middle school, Glenfield.

^I believe it.

Wow that must be something to watch that kind of a video at such a young age. I guess it is good that NJT is going out to the schools to pass the word along about trains and safety. Up where i live we dont really have to worry about that stuff as much as the closest rail line only sees 6-10 trains per week. Come to think of it i cant remember any train safety presentations at all from when i was little.

I remeber the old video from when i was in 2nd grade, and then in Drivers Ed in high school they showed us another video.

The story that got me the most was some kid who was stupid enough to walk down the middle of the rails with his headphones on while a train rolled right over him from behind. The lady told us it happened in bergen county somewhere...

There was no such thing as videos back when I was in elementry school but we had a school aide who was a conductor on the Dinky back in the PC days and he would give informal train saftey lessons. (he worked the rush hour trains, and then went to the school in between)