NTL Record

Title Countermeasures to mitigate intentional deaths on railroad rights-of-way : lessons learned and next steps
Record ID 54427
Personal Name
Creator
Gabree, Scott H.; Chase, Stephanie; Doucette, Ann; Martino, Michael
Source 94p. in various pagings
Corporate Creator John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and Development; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development
Publisher United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and Development
Publication Date 20141100
Language English
Abstract Trespassing is the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States. A large proportion of these trespasser fatalities are from intentional acts (i.e., suicides). With a lack of systematic research and evaluation of the countermeasures that are currently in place as well as those that have been proposed, it is difficult for railroad carriers and communities that seek to select appropriate countermeasures that are likely to be effective at mitigating suicides. This report discusses the current information available on trespasser fatalities and the implementation of countermeasures in use internationally to prevent suicides on the railroad right-of-way. The paper presents a discussion of each countermeasure according to various intervention points along the path to complete suicide on the railroad right-of-way. These intervention points include: preventing individuals from reaching a suicidal state, making the railroad environment appear to be a less viable means for attempting suicide, deterring access to the right-of-way, avoiding collisions with trespassers and pedestrians, reducing the lethality of a train-person collision, and improving the quality of data and reporting standards. Each of these intervention points provides an opportunity for a countermeasure to potentially divert the individual from the path towards a suicidal act.
Rosap ID dot:12143
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/12143
TRT Terms Suicide; Railroad safety; Countermeasures; Prevention; Fatalities; Trespassers; High speed rail
General Subjects Suicide; Intentional fatality; Suicide prevention
Classification AGR - SAFETY AND SECURITY - SAFETY AND SECURITY;
NTL - RAIL TRANSPORTATION - High Speed Ground Transportation;
NTL - RAIL TRANSPORTATION - RAIL TRANSPORTATION;
NTL - RAIL TRANSPORTATION - Rail Safety;
NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - SAFETY AND SECURITY;
NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Rail Safety
Geographical
Coverage
United States
TRIS Online
Accession No
1548629
Contract Number RR04A7/JLF27
Report Number DOT/FRA/ORD-14/36
Availability Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/54000/54400/54427/Countermeasures_Mitigate_Deaths_20141124l.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository