It is sponsored cooperatively by federal, state and local government agencies, civic and business organizations, the nation's railroads and other groups interested in highway safety. To meet its lifesaving goals, Operation Lifesaver is designed to increase public awareness of highway-rail grade crossing hazards and improve driver and pedestrian behavior at these intersections. In conjunction with its educational phases, Operation Lifesaver emphasizes engineering improvements, including the installation and upgrading of grade crossing warning signals and signs, and the enforcement of existing traffic laws. Operation Lifesaver was born in Idaho in 1972 after Union Pacific Railroad and community leaders in the state decided to band together and fight the growing number of highway-rail grade crossing crashes, injuries and fatalities with a public education program. At the end of the first year, the highway-rail grade crossing fatality rate dropped a resounding 39 percent.
All states have their own Operation Lifesaver program.
States have reported fatality reductions at highway-rail grade crossings ranging from 28 percent to 100 percent one year after establishing the program. Methods used to reach the public include civic presentations, early elementary and driver education curriculum activities, school bus driver training, industrial safety, law enforcement training, and media coverage. If existing laws governing motorist and pedestrian rights and responsibilities at highway-rail grade crossings are not enforced, they will be ignored and broken. Grade crossings must be kept as physically and operationally safe as possible, with improvements made where needed. The public should be educated about federal, state and railroad programs that plan, install and maintain grade crossings.