Trains can travel at very high speed, are heavy, are unable to deviate from the track and require a great distance to stop. Possibilities for accidents include jumping the track (derailment), head-on collision with another train coming the opposite way and collision with an automobile at a level crossing (also called a grade crossing). Level crossing collisions are relatively common in the United States where there are several thousand each year killing about 500 people - although the comparable figures in the United Kingdom are 30 and 12 (collisions and casualties, respectively). For information regarding major accidents, see List of rail accidents. Rail operations also generate sound intensities capable of inducing noise health effects.
The most important safety measures are railway signalling and gates at level crossings.
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Train whistles warn others of the presence of a train, while trackside signals maintain the distances between trains. In the United Kingdom, vandalism is thought responsible for about half of rail accidents.
Railroad lines are zoned or divided into blocks guarded by combinations of block signals, operating rules, and automatic-control devices so that at most one train may be in a block at any time . Such traffic control is done in a similar way to air traffic control.
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Compared to road travel, railways remain relatively safe. Annual death rates on roads are over 40,000 in the United States and about 3000 in the United Kingdom, compared with 1,000 rail-related fatalities in the United States and under 20 in the UK. (Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation and U.K. Health & Safety Executive). However, a true comparison needs to take account of the number of people using each mode.
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