Vital Signs
When you are sick and go to the doctor, one of the first things
doctor checks is your vital signs – temperature, blood pressure, and
pulse (heartbeat). Using the results of these vital sign
measurements, the doctor assesses the vitality your health or the
seriousness of your illness. If your vital signs are outside the
limits needed for good health, the physician may order additional
tests to determine what is causing abnormal vital sign readings. In
a similar manner, we can assess the health and effectiveness of the
Oklahoma Operation Lifesaver (OKOL) safety education by checking its
vital signs. Two indicators that help us assess the effectiveness
of our rail safety education are the total number of railroad
crossing and pedestrian trespassing incidents, and the resulting
number of fatal incidents. OKOL’s vitality has never been better
thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our volunteer Presenters who
have freely given their time and talents, as well as funding support
from the railroads, our national office, federal partners, the
Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO), and radio stations who
donated air time. In 2008, Oklahoma recorded the fewest number of
total crossing and trespass incidents and total number of fatal
incidents on record. Compared to the average in the eight previous
years of 80 incidents and 15 fatal incidents, Oklahoma recorded only
61 incidents and 9 fatal incidents. There were only 5 fatal
crashes, 4 fatal trespass incidents, 54 crossing collisions, and 7
trespasser incidents, compared to an average in the eight previous
years of 9 fatal crashes, 6 fatal trespass incidents, 68 crossing
collisions, and 12 trespass incidents. The safety education,
crossing closure, and trespass prevention, media, OHSO, and ODOT
team combined to produce a significant reduction in incidents and
fatal incidents in 2008. As the trend charts (on the right) show, the
total number of incidents and the number of fatal incidents have
declined steadily since the year 2000. In summary, 2008 was a very good
year for Oklahoma Operation Lifesaver. Let’s strive for a further
decline in 2009.
Sherry Soliz
Executive Director
Oklahoma Operation Lifesaver, Inc