'Footage that will make you tense to watch': GRT releasing videos of near misses with ION trains
Grand River Transit is releasing new videos every day this week showing close calls with its ION trains.
It is part of their Rail Safety Week campaign, with the goal of increasing awareness around the region’s LRT tracks.
The videos will show near-misses with other vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.
“It’s footage that will make you tense to watch and cause your belly to rise,” Regional Councillor Tom Galloway said in a release. “But it’s an important reminder that everyone -- transit users, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers -- need to pay attention to their surroundings.”
In the first video, a pedestrian can be seen crossing the street in front of an approaching LRT. They then drop their phone near the tracks, and crouch down to pick it up, despite the fact that the train is just a few metres away.
The videos are meant to show how distracted walking, cycling and driving can have serious and sometimes tragic consequences.
Grand River Transit says in each instance, the LRT operators were able to safely stop the train before a collision.
“They do have some jarring videos,” said Peter Zinck, the Director of Transit Services for the Region of Waterloo. “It’s just raise awareness around this issue because there’s moving vehicles. There’s moving people around, and sometimes people aren’t always watching what’s going on around them.”
According to officials, there have been seven near hits with ION trains and seven collisions with other vehicles.
That includes a crash earlier this month in Kitchener between an ION train and a car.
“We’d like to get to zero,” said Zinck. “We’d like to not have any of these incidents. It’s really about being aware as you interact with the trains.”
Metrolinx, which operates local GO trains, also weighed in on the safety message.
“It’s important to never underestimate how fast the trains go, and to adhere to the signs and safety measures in place,” said Nitish Bissonauth, a media relations spokesperson for Metrolinx.
Grand River Transit will be releasing the videos on their social media and YouTube channels.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demand endowment transparency. But it's proving not to be simple
Over the last decade, students have pushed universities to cut financial ties with fossil fuel producers, weapons manufacturers, tobacco companies and prison firms. Here's why it's not always that simple.