An improving economy may have contributed to an increase in vehicle-train and pedestrian collisions, deaths and injuries in 2010, according to Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI), the national nonprofit rail safety education organization, citing preliminary 2010 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) statistics.

“The statistics show that as America pulls out of the recession and people are driving more, we need to redouble our efforts to educate the public about taking unnecessary risks at highway-rail crossings because any incident is one too many,” said OLI President Helen Sramek. “Another disturbing finding is the continued rise in pedestrian incidents on or near train tracks.”

The FRA statistics indicate that there were 2,004 vehicle-train collisions in the U.S. in 2010, up 4.2 percent from the 1,924 incidents in 2009; those 2010 collisions resulted in 260 deaths and 810 injuries, with crossing deaths up 5.3 percent and crossing injuries up 9.8 percent from the 247 deaths and 738 injuries in 2009. States with the most crossing collisions in 2010 were Texas, Illinois, California, Indiana and Louisiana.

U.S. Department of Transportation figures also show that vehicle miles traveled in 2010 (2,999,634 according to the Federal Highway Administration) were the third-highest ever, Sramek noted. “With more people traveling on our roadways, there’s a greater chance for an incident to occur,” she said.

An additional 451 pedestrians were killed and 382 injured while trespassing on train tracks last year, versus 417 deaths and 343 injuries in 2009. Total trespasser deaths rose 8.2 percent and trespasser injuries rose 11.4 percent in 2010. States with the most pedestrian-train casualties (deaths and injuries combined) in 2010 were California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New York.

“Despite overall gains in rail safety in the past decade, these latest statistics show that Operation Lifesaver must continue its work to educate drivers and pedestrians about the dangers present around tracks and trains,” said Sramek.