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Operation Lifesaver and Safety Partners Concern About 'Dangerous Message'

24 February 2000

Operation Lifesaver and Safety Partners Share Concern About 'Dangerous Message' Seen in J.C. Penney's Noise Magazine Aimed at Youngsters Features Kids Standing, Playing on the Rails

    ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 24 -- An exuberant magazine focusing on
the whims and fantasies of youth sponsored by J.C. Penney has gone too far in
the Spring 2000 issue, which features youngsters playing on the tracks.
    "These provocative images of young teens deliver the wrong message -- that
it's okay to play around tracks and trains," Operation Lifesaver President
Gerri Hall says.  "This is pure fantasy.  The reality is that last year alone
1,000 people were killed or seriously injured because they were on the tracks
as a pedestrian/trespasser."
    Jolene Molitoris, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
criticized sending the wrong message to young people saying, "Glamorizing
trespassing on private railroad property is irresponsible.  It encourages
illegal behavior that could possibly lead to a very untimely death. In 1998,
29 percent of all trespasser fatalities were children trespassers between the
ages of 1-25.  We must educate our youth about the dangers of trespassing and
encourage them to stay away from the tracks."
    On behalf of its safety partners, Operation Lifesaver is asking J.C.
Penney to remove the Spring issue of Noise magazine from its stores,
particularly the juniors' departments, where it is now prominently displayed.
    Young people who watched Wednesday night's Fox telecast of daredevil
motorcyclist Robbie Knievel jumping a train also received a misguided message,
Hall noted.  "Mr. Knievel and his team made careful calculations to carry out
this sensational stunt, but 12 times a day someone makes a flawed calculation
to beat a train with deadly result," Hall said, speaking on NBC's Today Show
this morning. "These preventable tragedies are not sensational to families who
experience them. They are devastating."
    Leroy Jones, Vice President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers,
explained that in each of those cases the locomotive engineer sees disaster
ahead, but is helpless to change the outcome.  Because of the weight and size
of the train, it cannot stop in time. "The train can't swerve, so the
engineers are unwilling victims," he said. "They relive each incident.  This
kind of post-traumatic stress syndrome creates an emotional burden for both
the engineers and their families for years."
    Nearly 2,000 Americans die or are injured in vehicles every year at
highway-rail intersections. Operation Lifesaver, which has programs in 49
states, has been credited with helping to save 10,000 lives and preventing
40,000 injuries since its inception in 1972 in Idaho.

    Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit, highway-rail safety program with 3,000
volunteer presenters who carry a safety message to schools, trucking
companies, civic groups and new drivers nationwide.