LIRR Launches New Grisly Ad Campaign Promoting Safety At Railroad Crossings
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Long Island Rail Road has launched a grisly new ad campaign in an effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries at railroad crossings.
"It only takes a fraction of a second to make a very bad decision," the 15-second ad says. "Your life is worth the wait."
The ad shows a computer-generated video of a car driving around a downed crossing gate before it is crushed by a train.
The ad ends with an image from a train vs. car incident. The occupants of the vehicle were killed and the train engineer escaped before the damaged cab caught fire, the LIRR said.
"It's graphic throughout and we really think that it has to be in order to drive home the point that it's certainly not worth your life to take a chance like that," LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena told 1010 WINS. "A train moving at normal speed, which could be anywhere from 60 to 80 miles an hour, has a clear run through a crossing with the gates down and when a car decides they're going to try to beat it, it's not a pretty sight, it's quite tragic."
The campaign comes following a spike in deaths at railroad crossings.
So far this year, there have been nine incidents involving cars or pedestrians resulting in six deaths, the agency said.
In 2012, there were 11 incidents with six fatalities; up from two fatal incidents in 2011.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories:
