Deaths among railroad trespassers. The role of alcohol in fatal injuries
A. Pelletier
State Branch, Division of Applied Public Health Training, Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga 30333, USA. ARP1@EPO.EM.CDC.GOV
OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of persons killed by trains
while trespassing (ie, using railroad property for activities unrelated to
railroad operations). DESIGN: Case series obtained from records of the
state medical examiner. SETTING: North Carolina, 1990 through 1994.
SUBJECTS: One hundred twenty-eight persons ranging in age from 7 to 84
years who were killed in 125 separate incidents. RESULTS: Of 224
railroad-related deaths during the study period, 128 cases (57%) involved
trespassers. Trespasser fatalities typically involved unmarried male
pedestrians 20 to 49 years of age with less than a high school education.
Eighty-two percent of incidents occurred in the trespassers' county of
residence, indicating that few deaths involved transients. Fatalities among
railroad trespassers exhibited both geographic and temporal clustering.
Seventy-eight percent of trespassers were killed while intoxicated (median
alcohol level, 56 mmol/L [260 mg/dL]). CONCLUSIONS: Deaths among
trespassers are the leading cause of railroad-related mortality in North
Carolina. Greater efforts are needed to reduce this type of preventable
injury. Prevention of trespasser fatalities is dependent on control of
alcohol abuse, enforcement of existing laws, and education of the public
regarding the dangers of railroad trespassing.
