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DART chief talks safety concerns & Texas-OU weekend
Saturday will be the biggest travel day for Dallas Area Rapid Transit during the Texas-OU game. DART is also pushing for more safety awareness following a deadly crash. Chief Charles Cato joined Dallas News Live to explain what he wants the public to know about safety at train stops.
DALLAS - Dallas Area Rapid Transit is preparing for one of its busiest weekends of the year – the Texas-OU game during the State Fair of Texas.
This comes as the transit agency pushes for more safety awareness following a recent deadly crash.
Texas-OU Weekend
What we know:
This year, DART will have extra police officers, extra security officers, extra fire enforcement officers, and even ambassadors working to help Texas Longhorn and Oklahoma Sooner fans heading too and from the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry.
They will be in place to help people purchase tickets, find the best route, and stay safe.
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What they're saying:
Chief Charles Cato said DART has a very robust plan in place for the weekend to keep traffic flowing.
"It’s a plan that we’ve tested and used. We refine each year after we have these events," he said. "We believe we have a plan that we can execute successfully to get people into and out of the fair and it’s safe, efficient, and hopefully it matters whether everybody has a great time."
He also encouraged people to do their part by arriving early and packing their patience.
"But other than that, please pay attention to your surroundings," he said.
DART Safety Awareness
The backstory:
Last week, a woman was hit and killed in Garland while attempting to cross the tracks.
There were four similar incidents in a very short period of time last year. The chief called 2025 a rough year for DART accidents.
DART train hits, kills pedestrian crossing the tracks in Garland
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a DART train in Garland on Friday morning while trying to cross, causing temporary closures on Garland Road and brief DART rail service disruptions.
What you can do:
Chief Cato again encouraged riders to pay attention to their surroundings.
"First of all, people are distracted. Sometimes they're looking at their phones. Sometimes they have ear buds in. They can't see, they're not paying attention, hearing or seeing their surroundings. Others are where they willfully see the train, the warning signals and the gate arms down and they try to beat the train across the tracks. And some others, unfortunately I believe at least one has been intentional," he said.
The Source: The information in this story comes from an interview with DART Police Chief Charles Cato, as well as past news coverage.