Norfolk Southern is bringing its Train Your Brain public safety campaign to Indiana to encourage motorists to be smart and safe when crossing train tracks.
Billboards, with messages such as “Your fan club is waiting” and “He looks up to you,” remind Indiana residents to cross railroad tracks carefully because their loved ones depend on them to return home safely. The billboards are going up this week in Gary, Goshen, Lafayette, Muncie, New Albany, Wabash, and Warsaw, Ind.
“We’re turning our focus to Indiana because of the high number of deaths and injuries in the state as a result of vehicle-train incidents,” said John A. Irwin, assistant vice president safety and environmental. “These important public safety messages will resonate clearly, as Indiana ranked fourth highest in the U.S. for vehicle-train collisions in 2015, with 118 incidents resulting in 51 deaths and injuries.” Nationwide, highway-rail grade crossing incidents resulted in more than 1,200 serious injuries and deaths last year.”
“Train Your Brain” safety messages will be delivered through radio, print, and billboard advertisements, Cross carefully every single time to make sure you get home safely to your loved ones! on gas pumps at convenience stores, and in short videos in movie theaters. To reach drivers 18-34, who statistically are among the most at-risk for highway-rail incidents, “Train Your Brain” also is sponsoring activities at the University of Notre Dame, Purdue University, and Ball State University athletic events, as well as at Gary South Shore RailCats baseball games.
Now in its 10th year, Norfolk Southern’s “Train Your Brain” public safety campaign has operated in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee, reaching more than seven million people through event appearances. This is the second time the campaign has been in Indiana. The state also was targeted in 2009-2010.