SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Norfolk Southern announced it’s expanding a partnership with navigation app Waze to increase driver awareness around railroad crossings in Suffolk.
The app sends drivers and pedestrians an alert through the app when they’re near a crossing.
Officials with Norfolk Southern said they chose Suffolk for the partnership because they’re concerned about safety near the city’s crossings. They say there’s been an alarming number of incidents in the last 20 years.
“Since 2000, there’s been 18 incidents in Suffolk,” said William Miller, Norfolk Southern’s Public Safety Director. “It’s a very powerful way to get people a safety message they may not otherwise receive.”
Suffolk is one of two towns in Virginia chosen for the expanded partnership by Norfolk Southern.
This feature can also be found in Manassass.
“[Suffolk] is an area that we see a continuation of people not making good decisions at crossings,” Miller said.
Last month, there was a crash in involving a Norfolk Southern train in downtown Suffolk on East Washington Street.
City officials said the driver of the vehicle was slightly over the track . That’s when the train struck the front of it.
No one was hurt and there was no derailment.
“We hope these messages are impactful, and again we hope these people will think about what they’re doing when they’re driving over the railroad tracks.”
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