It's also dangerous and a symbol of the biggest problem in rail safety — trespassing, according to railroad safety experts. Due to investments in education, enforcement and better engineering, deaths at road-rail crossings have plummeted by more than 70 percent nationwide, from 816 in 1980 to 237 in 2015, according to Federal Railroad Administration statistics. Safety experts are now focused on finding ways to cut trespassing through education, intervention and barriers such as fencing at popular trespassing spots. "Trespassing has been more of a stubborn problem for us," said Bonnie Murphy, president and CEO of Operation Lifesaver, a national train safety organization, who spoke along with other safety experts at the biennial DuPage Railroad Safety Council conference last week. ............................
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