With prom season not too far away, North Carolina transportation officials are asking people to avoid using railroad tracks as a backdrop for their photos.
The N.C. Department of Transportation says in a news release it is working with the state Department of Public Instruction by asking yearbook staff advisers to alert students and photographers about the dangers of taking pictures on or near railroad tracks.
Officials are also warning people that railroad tracks, trestles, rail yards and rights-of-way are private property, and using them as photo backdrops is trespassing. The department says that with new technology, approaching trains are much quieter and people shouldn't assume they would hear one coming.
Last year, 18 people were killed and 13 others were injured while trespassing on North Carolina railroad tracks.