SEPTA Warns Photographers To Keep Off Tracks
By Chelsea Lacey-Mabe
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A change of season means new things to look at and take pictures of—water reflected off of the Schuylkill to post on Instagram or a snap of a melting Mister Softee cone. After an especially long winter, people in the Delaware Valley may be looking for the perfect photo to help document the return of spring but SEPTA is reminding these photographers that train tracks are off limits.
"When it comes to train tracks, there is no picture-perfect setting,"said Scott Sauer, SEPTA's Assistant General Manager of System Safety. "In fact, if you take photos or shoot video on the tracks, that picture or film might be the last footage you take. Tracks are for trains. They are not photo or movie studios."
Safety issues aside, walking on the tracks is considered illegal trespassing.
Sauer, who is also a board member for Operation Lifesaver Inc., a national organization dedicated to rail safety, stresses that trains can come on any track, at any time, and in any direction. In other words, there is no safe time to take pictures on or around the tracks. Riders should also be on guard while they are waiting for the train and while entering and exiting to avoid falling onto the tracks or walking into other people.
A recent study by Priceonomics found that eight people have been killed by trains internationally while they were posing for selfies.
"The picture is not worth the risk," noted Sauer.