ODESSA, Texas — There have been many accidents involving trains all throughout Midland, Odessa and other parts of West Texas.
Just Sunday night an SUV was hit by a train. The driver got out of the car before the train came and was okay.
In fact, Texas has the most collisions by state involving railways.
"Every three hours in the United States a person or a vehicle is hit by a train, that's a staggering statistic," said Jennifer DeAngelis with Operation Lifesaver, a group that specializes in Rail Safety. "Over 50% of those incidences happen around lights and gates ,which is another staggering statistic because you have warning devices there."
A lot of us cross the train tracks everyday, and it's important to follow the rules and obey the law.
"It's against the law to actually go around the barriers when they're down or when the lights are flashing. You need to stop and you just treat it as a if a road is closed," said Maryann Cedillo, Public Information Officer with TXDOT.
It's important to stay off the tracks at all times.
"Trains cannot stop quickly, it takes a freight train traveling 55 miles an hour over a mile to stop. That's like 18 football fields," said DeAngelis.
If you find yourself stuck on a track, the first and most important step is to get out of the vehicle.
"Get out and get away, whether you see a train or not get out of your car, get away from your car and get to a safe place," said DeAngelis.
Then look for the Emergency Notification System sign that is located at crossings and give the number a call.
"A blue and white rectangular sign, call the number on that sign, there's a locator ID on that sign so give that locator ID to the other person on the other end of the phone a call and then they can do their best to stop traffic if they can," said DeAngelis.
After that call 911 and tell them what happened. However, the best advice is to avoid the situation entirely
"Always be safe, stop, look and listen and it's not worth you life," said Cedillo.
Authorities also recommend to avoid distractions like texting or loud music that would prevent you from hearing a train coming.