(The following story by John Bulger appeared on the Idaho State Journal website on August 7.)
POCATELLO, Idaho — The two engines rumble down the track, horns blaring. A green truck approaches the crossing, which is marked with a sign. The truck driver hesitates, then accelerates across the tracks.
“Look at that! Right in front of our trooper! That right there is a flagrant violation,” said Lt. Chris Weadick of the Idaho State Police.
Weadick does not have to use his radio to alert patrol cars for this violation. One is parked 20 yards from the offender; the other is stopped at the head of the line on the opposite side of the tracks.
As soon as the engines safely clear the intersection, the patrol car is off in pursuit. The violation will cost the driver $75 and three points against his driver’s license. Twelve points in a year leads to a license suspension.
Thursday’s enforcement was part of Idaho Operation Lifesaver’s “Officer on a Train” program, which serves to increase public awareness of the potential dangers that exist at highway railroad intersections and eliminate driver actions that can have tragic consequences.
Weadick was in the engine cab, acting as spotter, observing traffic and radioing to other officers located near intersections. He was joined by Chris Arvas of Idaho Operation Lifesaver, who videotaped the events.
“If a train is within 1,500 feet and blowing its whistle, they’re required to come to a complete stop,” Weadick explained as the engines cross through a marked, unlighted intersection.
If a vehicle was determined to cross in violation, Weadick radioed patrol officers to pull the driver over and issue a citation.
The afternoon route was between Idaho Falls and Sugar City and back, passing through Rigby and Rexburg. Prior to running the northern leg, the two locomotive units, weighing more than 500,000 pounds combined, went back and forth a number of times through three intersections in Idaho Falls. Two of the intersections were one-lane rural roads and one was a major thoroughfare, marked with flashing red light signals. Several motorists ignored the red lights and were ticketed during the morning enforcement.
“Blue car southbound on Holmes,” Weadick said into his radio, alerting chase cars to make a stop.
“No doubt on that one,” Weadick said as the train rolled across the intersection.
Eastern Idaho Railroad conductor/engineer Karl Eggleston, 24, manned one of the two engines. He is no stranger to train/vehicle collisions.
“I’ve been in eight collisions and three of them were semis,” Eggleston said. “I’ve been here for 51/2 years.”
Eggleston noted that trains are taller and shorter than many people estimate, creating an optical illusion that leads people to believe they can safely cross.
Many drivers are unaware of the train’s inability to stop or how close to a collision they came.
“Even at 10 miles per hour, I can’t stop,” he said.
“The biggest thing is when they cut you off and then they wave,” he said. “That drives me nuts. I think, ‘Do you know what just almost happened there?’”
The afternoon route will take the train by a U.S. Highway 20 crossing between Rigby and Rexburg that claimed the life of a woman and her 11-year-old son in June.
Colin Erickson, a detective with the Rexburg Police Department, is on board, as he has been the last 11 years.
He is the coordinator for the northern run of today’s enforcement. Volunteered by a supervisor for his first involvement, he is now sold on the event’s worth.
“Anytime you can save a life or dollars out of someone’s pocket, that’s a great program,” he said. “It’s a program that works.”
One pass through busy East Anderson Street brought no violations. The group noted the occurrence with approval.
“I’d take that over writing a million tickets,” Weadick said.
At the end of the day, the officers will have issued 30 citations for failure to stop, running the red crossing signal or proceeding when not safe. Weadick said that a number of people will call him to complain about their citation.
“I’ll take the time to talk to them,” he said, as he has done in previous years.
A common gripe is entrapment. Weadick said he will explain the legal concept to them, pointing out that entrapment requires that law enforcement entice a person to do something illegal that they would not otherwise do.
If the person decides to fight the ticket, an officer will arrive in court with video footage from a patrol car and likely from Arvas’ video camera on the train.
Since Idaho Operation Livesaver’s inception in 1990, the number of train/vehicle collisions has dropped dramatically, from 90 to approximately 20 per year statewide, according to Chris Arvas. He believes the decline is due to the program’s educational outreach and increases in enforcement. The “Officer on a Train” and “Adopt A Crossing” enforcement operation runs eight to 10 times a year around the state, sponsored by various law enforcement entities and six participating railroad companies.
“The reason I got into the program is all the collisions we’ve had,” Arvas said, who speaks with the knowledge accumulated in 30 years as an engineer for Union Pacific. He has been involved in 15 collisions.
“It’s proactive instead of reactive,” he said.