Safe Crossing Week Teaches Lifesaving Skills to Children

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 26, 2009) — With unintentional injuries as the leading cause of death and disability for children ages 1 to 14 in the United States, Safe Kids Fayette County and CN, one of the largest railroads in North America, are working together to teach elementary school students around the country how to stay safe near railroad tracks and trains.

In 2008, approximately 744 people were killed and 1,372 were injured in incidents involving trains in the United States. These incidents involved either trains and pedestrians or trains and motor vehicle occupants. Twenty-two children ages 14 and under were killed, and another 122 were injured, in incidents involving trains.

Safe Crossing Week, Nov. 1-7, focuses on Teaching Safety for Life, which includes an innovative in-school program that provides a grade level-specific railroad safety curriculum and activities. CN police officers and CN employee volunteers are teaching thousands of students in the United States and in Canada, making it the largest and most wide-spread Safe Crossing Week in history.

This year, some of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals and children’s museums have come on board to hold special events to further broaden the reach of the program.

Locally, Safe Kids Fayette County is leading more than 551 students in grades K-5 from Rosenwald-Dunbar Elementary School in Nicholasville during their physical education class.

“Even though parents are ultimately responsible for their kids’ safety, children can be our ambassadors for a safer community,” said Sherri Hannan, coordinator of Safe Kids Fayette County. “Children pass along what they learn to their families and set good examples as role models for one another. If we want to build a culture of safety, it starts with reaching children early so that safe practices and behaviors become second-nature as they grow and develop into safe teens and adults.”

Participating schools will access the Safe Crossing Week 2009 package online, which includes grade-specific lesson plans and activities incorporating railroad safety into language and reading, science and technology, social science, health and physical education, and citizenship and government classes for kindergarten to grade 6 students; a Safe Crossing Week poster and school certificate; student activity booklets; parent letters, brochures and fact sheets in English and Spanish; and interactive Web-based teaching tools.

To stay safe near railroad tracks, parents and children need to discuss and follow these simple life-saving safety rules:

· Only cross at marked railroad crossings. Always look both ways before crossing the tracks.

· Obey all signs and signals. Listen for a warning bell or train whistle. Watch for flashing lights.

· Never try to cross the tracks if a train is coming. Trains are very large and heavy, and take a long time to stop!

· When a train is coming, stand at least 10 giant steps away from the tracks. If one train passes, make sure another one isn’t coming. Trains can come from any direction at any time on any track.

· Get off your bike and walk it across the tracks. Don’t forget to wear your helmet when you ride your bike.

· Walking or playing on or near railroad tracks is dangerous.

To access teaching tools for Safe Crossing Week 2009, visit www.usa.safekids.org/rail

or contact Safe Kids at (859) 323-1153. Young children can also learn more about railroad safety while having fun with Obie, the safety train, and his engineer friend, Max, at www.cn.ca/obie.

About Safe Kids Fayette County

Safe Kids Fayette County works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. Its members include health and safety experts, educators, community leaders, corporations, foundations, government representatives and volunteers to educate and protect families. Safe Kids Fayette County is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury. Safe Kids Fayette County was founded in 1994 and is led by Kentucky Children's Hospital.

The Safe Crossing Program is part of CN's All Aboard for Safety community education program through which CN has been promoting railroad safety for more than 25 years. Part of the strength of the All Aboard for Safety program is the collaborative relationship CN shares with major community safety organizations: Safe Kids USA, Safe Kids Canada, Operation Lifesaver, Safe Communities America, Safe Communities Canada, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and SMARTRISK. Every year, CN police officers make All Aboard for Safety presentations to more than 300,000 students and adults in schools and at community events in the United States and Canada.

CN – Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries – spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company’s website at www.cn.ca.