National Safety Month
May 28, 2019
June is National Safety Month. Each week in June is an opportunity to make a difference in your home, work, and community.
Identifying risks around the home or improving safety standards at home and in your community protects everyone. Whether we increase first aid and emergency awareness through drills, conduct safety blitzes at our stations, or provide water safety tips for summer recreation, we’re taking steps to provide a safer neighborhood.
Above all else, SEPTA’s number one concern will always be safety: safety for our operators, engineers, and of course, you, the customer.
Last month, to kick-off SEPTA's Safety Day on May 1, we launched a contest asking you to pledge to Make the Safe Choice when riding SEPTA. And boy did you! We received a whopping 736 entries! Congratulations to Antonique B. for winning the drawing, and the grand prize of a June Anywhere TrailPass!
While it’s true that riding public transportation keeps you safe, there are also many things you can be doing to keep yourself safe on public transportation. Here are a list of steps you can follow to make sure you’re being as safe as you possibly can be every time you ride SEPTA:
• Always hold onto your children's hand when waiting for transit services.
• Don't let your children wander - transit areas are busy places.
• If you're standing while you ride, hold on tight to the poles or seat rails.
• Watch your step closely and make sure you have a firm footing when getting on or off.
• Read posted emergency evacuation instructions so you'll know what to do in the event of an emergency.
• Be alert for instructions from the Conductor, Operator or authorized personnel.
But riding SEPTA isn’t the only time to be aware of your safety! Here are some tips for staying safe when you’re near tracks:
• Walking along the track right-of-way or crossing the tracks is trespassing; it could prove to be a fatal mistake.
• Approaching trains and trolleys can be very quiet, especially when there is snow on the ground or the weather is damp.
• Approaching trains and trolleys can seem to appear suddenly if you're listening to music with a headset or ear buds, or when you're talking on a cell phone and not paying attention to your surroundings.
• A moving train or trolley can't steer out of the way of an object or person, and it takes much more effort to slow or stop than a car.
• A train or trolley that you think is far enough away to give you time to illegally cross the tracks can reach you in seconds - it's just not worth the risk.
If you follow these tips as well as your own common sense, you’ll be well on your way to a safe trip! Read more about safety here.
Other things you can do:
• Report repairs as they are needed.
• Hold drills at home to help children know what to do in the even of fire, tornado, medical event, another natural disaster.
• Volunteer to participate in community emergency preparedness events.
• Put together a first aid kit.
• Take a CPR class.
• Teach someone to change a tire properly and safely.
• Learn about proper storage and disposal of medications.
• Take a defensive driving course.
• Learn how to identify fall hazards in a home.
• Visit the National Safety Council website for tips and resources and use #NationalSafetyMonth to share on social media.
As always, thanks for riding and for continuing to Make the Safe Choice!
