Life — September 20, 1929 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Railroad Crossing Safety Advertisement This is a public service advertisement by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company addressing a serious early-20th-century safety crisis: unprotected railroad grade crossings. **The Issue:** The text reports 8,383 deaths from automobile accidents at grade crossings in the U.S. the previous year, with over 93% of 235,000 crossings unprotected. As automobile ownership increased dramatically, collisions at these crossings became epidemic. **The Message:** The prominent railroad crossing sign and locomotive illustration emphasize the danger. The ad advocates abolishing grade crossings entirely—a costly but necessary solution estimated at twelve billion dollars. New York State is highlighted as a model, having already eliminated 150 dangerous crossings with shared railroad-state-community funding (railroads 50%, state 49%, communities 1%). The advertisement urges citizens to pressure legislators to eliminate these "death traps" immediately.