Surprisingly, kids do have a volume switch— it turns in one direction. It’s amazing just how loud a gymnasium full of elementary students can really get — even the kids themselves cover their ears from the noise. However, if the best way to deliver the message, “Look, Listen, and Live,” is to shout it at the top of our lungs, then we’ll yell until we’re blue in the face; it’s a message that matters because it could save a life.

Prior to opening the Mid-Jordan and West Valley light rail lines, UTA is taking an active role in educating and keeping kids safe.  Once construction on the two lines is completed in the coming months, UTA will be testing its light rail trains and signals running through communities in West Valley, South Salt Lake, West Jordan, South Jordan, Midvale and Murray.  Even drivers will need a new mind-set as they get used to trains running down the middle of their street.  Regular schedules and operations are not slated to begin until Aug. 7, 2011, but drivers and pedestrians need to be aware of the potential hazards of crossing in front of a high-velocity steam roller.

“So, when is it train time?” UTA’s Aaron Mentzer recently asked students at Terra Linda Elementary School in West Jordan.  “Anytime is train time,” students shout back, but it isn’t loud enough, yet.  Mentzer egged them on to shout even louder– the air humming like the rumbling of a freight train… but it still may not be loud enough.  That’s why UTA is repeating this message again and again and for as long as we can. Please contact us for more information on Operational Lifesaver.

If you would like UTA to make an Operation Lifesaver at your child’s school, please have the teacher/principal contact Chad Saley at 801-287-2290.