As Rail Safety Week starts today, the public is reminded of the dangers of getting too close to the tracks. 

Staff Sgt Darren Simons with the Carlyle RCMP shares how to stay safe around trains. 

"As a pedestrian, just avoid the tracks. A lot of people think that the tracks aren't used very often. They'll walk down them, they'll have something in their ears so they can't hear what's going on assuming the train will be able to stop if they see them. But it takes a long time for a train to stop."

"We recommend avoiding the railway tracks totally."

He added that people also assume that the train is only as wide as the tracks and end up getting struck.

"For railway crossings with motor vehicles, just because you've driven across that railway crossing numerous times and have never seen a train, doesn't mean the train isn't coming this time."

"Always take a railway crossing as a dangerous point and pay extra attention. Because the one time you don't could be the time there's a collision and trains generally win the collision."

It was only a month ago when a young woman lost her life when she struck a train near Weyburn. A young life that was taken too soon hopefully can serve as a precautionary tale and prevent a similar tragedy. 

"The cell phone is becoming a more prominent issue. People feel that they have to look at the message. If it's that important, they can call and you can talk to them on your Bluetooth otherwise pull over because it doesn't take long for a collision to take place and if you're focused more on your phone than the roadway, there will be a collision."

Rail Safety Week runs Septemeber 23-29