Operation Lifesaver
Encyclopedia
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
in 1972 as a six-week, one-time public awareness campaign sponsored by the office of Governor Cecil Andrus, the Idaho Peace Officers and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
after years of increasing grade crossing accidents.
As a result of Operation Lifesaver, grade crossing-related fatalities dropped by forty-three percent. The next year, the Operation Lifesaver campaign spread to Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, where their collision rate was reduced by twenty-six percent. Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
established independent versions the year after that, and between 1978 and 1986, while Operation Lifesaver operated under the auspices of the National Safety Council
National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is a 501 nonprofit, nongovernmental public service organization dedicated to protecting life and promoting health. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressional charter in 1953...
, all 48 continental states and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
started independent Operation Lifesaver programs which remain active today. In 1986, the national program was incorporated as a national, non-profit educational organization, among them being a short film called Sly Fox and Birdie
Sly Fox and Birdie
Sly Fox and Birdie is a 1992 educational video produced by Operation Lifesaver. It shows two characters, a yellow bird named Birdie and a fox named Sly Fox, learning about railroad safety. In 2006, an updated version was made. The updated version has a new railway safety rap.-Plot:We see a yellow...
.
Operation Lifesaver provides educational material free of charge to schools and civic organizations and they actively recruit and train volunteers to speak on the subject of rail safety.
In 2006 Operation Lifesaver requested that Disney edit a scene of the Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
film Cars
Cars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
in which the character of Lighting McQueen races a train to a grade crossing while the crossing lights are flashing. Disney/Pixar has removed the scene in question from theater showings but the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release of the movie still includes the scene.