Truck/Railroad Crossing Safety Program at VC

Victoria College will offer two presentations on railroad crossing safety for truck drivers and truck driver students at 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Health Sciences Center, Room 133.

Buck Russel, public safety manager with Union Pacific Railroad, will conduct the presentations geared toward safety awareness for truck drivers. Victoria College commercial truck driving students are also invited to attend either session.

In 2012, there were 1,967 vehicle-train collisions, resulting in 273 fatalities and 946 injuries, according to preliminary statistics from the Federal Railroad Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. A motorist is almost 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a collision involving another motor vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"I saw this presentation at a recent Eagle Ford Shale meeting, and I was so impressed that I asked Union Pacific if they would offer it to our truck driving students," Sherri Pall, director of Victoria College's Workforce and Continuing Education, told the Victoria Advocate. "When they agreed, I thought it would be a good opportunity for companies to offer it to their truck drivers. This is a good program to raise awareness of railroad crossing safety."

For more information on the railroad crossing safety presentations, contact Mary Pullin at 361-485-6830.