(The following article by William Johnson was circulated by Louisiana Gannett News on November 2.)
OPELOUSAS, La. — With still two months to go, 2004 is on track to set a record for the number of fatal railroad accidents in St. Landry Parish.
To fight this rising total, six deputies with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office this weekend underwent an intensive two-day course on railroad crossings and trespassing presented by Louisiana Operation Lifesaver.
“I work all the fatalities. We need to make the people more aware of the dangerous decisions they are making,” said Detective Eddie Thibodeaux, who is the sheriff’s department’s lead investigator for train/vehicle crashes.
“If I never had to work another fatal crash it would make me a very happy person,” Thibodeaux said.
The course instructed the deputies on stopping distances, state laws, railroad signal identification and the do’s and don’ts when crossing over railroads.
Following the course, the deputies are now certified as presenters of the Operation Lifesaver program.
“We want to get out the word that railroad crosssings are dangerous,” Thibodeaux said.
He said people need to understand there is little a train can do to prevent an accident.
“All the engineer can do is pull the emergency brake. It is going to take the train a mile to stop – that’s 18 football fields. They are helpless, they can’t swerve,” Thibodeaux said.
Sheriff Howard Zerangue said now that the deputies are trained, his office plans to offer free courses to professional drivers, law enforcement agencies, driver’s education classes, school teachers, bus drivers and students – basically anyone wanting safety tips to save their lives.
The state-sponsored Operation Lifesaver has two mottos it is pushing. For vehicles crossing the tracks, motorists are urged to “Look, Listen and Live.” For those who trespass on railroad property, the motto is “Stay Off, Stay Away, Stay Alive.”
“It is trespassing if you walk along the tracks. It is only legal to cross at the intersection. We are getting serious about enforcing that,” Thibodeaux said.
“If you are riding your 4-wheeler, if you are out hunting, it is illegal to be on the tracks,” Thibodeaux said.
When it comes to vehicles, he said the law requires them to stop at least 15 feet away from the tracks but not more than 50. He said if a vehicle stops more than 50 feet away, it encourages some people to try to go around.
“If the existing laws governing crossing are not enforced, they will be ignored and broken – collisions will continue to happen,” Thibodeaux said.
Joining the deputies for the training was Francis Murphy Leday with the St. Landry Parish School Board’s Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Programs.
She said because of the number of accidents the parish is experiencing, the school system is eager to team up with the Sheriff’s Office to help promote of public awareness.
“We, along with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, hope to educate our parents, students and educators throughout the school system,” Leday said.
She said the school system will select a month, probably soon after the first of the year, and proclaim it Operation Lifesaver Month. During that period local schools will sponsor poster and essays contests to help raise awareness.
The newly trained deputies will be available to give classes. During the workshop, each deputy was taught lecture skills and had to perform a 10-minute, grade-appropriate lecture.
Thibodeaux said the group has prepared four talks – one each for kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth, six though eighth and a general talk for high school level children and adults.
“We want to reach everyone who crosses a railroad track,” Thibodeaux said.
He said the deputies will have coloring books and other items to help promote the Operation Lifesaver message to the students.
Even though they can’t drive, Thibodeaux said getting the word out to children is important.
“They go back and tell their mothers and fathers what they learn. If you can get them young, hopefully the message will stay with them throughout their lives,” Thibodeaux said.
Sheriff Zerangue said he is relieved to see the Lifesaver Program in St. Parish and urged all citizens to always obey the traffic laws. “The life you save may be your own,” Zerangue said.
Thibodeaux is not sure why crashes are up this year but believes there are a number of contributing factors.
For one, there are simply more trains coming through the parish. “Union Pacific has increased its business this year,” Thibodeaux said.
More trains also mean that trains are now coming at times when people aren’t used to seeing them. “People have gotten used to trains coming on a regular schedule,” Thibodeaux said.
Another problem is inattentive motorists. “With the advent of cell phones, people are talking on them and not paying attention. We see that in car accidents all the time,” Thibodeaux said.