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An Instagram search for selfies yields more than 208 million results, but there's a more troubling number associated with them: five.
That is the number of people who have died taking selfies on train tracks this year, according to The Washington Post. And the popularity of railroad photos means there could be more deaths.
"It's not just kids taking photos. Professional photographers like to pose high school seniors on tracks to evoke moving on in life. Brides and grooms seek similar shots. Parents even take photos of their toddlers on the rails," the Post says.
Railroad scenery in photos can be romantic, sentimental or simply aesthestic. No matter the reason, people in the industry are alarmed at the frequency of railroad backdrops and the risks people take to get them.
Union Pacific has started a campaign to derail the trend:
Why are selfies on railroad tracks a bad idea?
A train moving at 70 mph can cover the length of a football field in seconds, according to the Post.
So even while subjects may see or hear the train coming, injury or death can still happen within moments.
A person's reaction time can also be rattled in extreme situations such as dodging a train.
In some places, just being on the tracks can be illegal too, the report says.
Read more here.
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