INDIANAPOLIS — Impatient drivers beware — state troopers increasingly are riding on trains, looking for vehicles that illegally try to go through crossings when the gates are down, reports WRTV TheIndyChannel.com.
State police have an agreement with CSX Railroad, allowing troopers to ride on the company’s trains.
Police are trying to cut down on crossing violations in a state that ranks third in the nation in the number of collisions involving cars and trains.
During the first 10 months of 2001, 147 car-train crashes were reported in Indiana. The crashes killed 17 people and injured 54.
In the partnership between police and CSX, a trooper riding on a train can contact another trooper by radio when he or she sees a car violating crossing laws. The other trooper then chases the violator down in a squad car.
On Tuesday, state police and cooperating agencies issued 10 crossing-violation tickets in Madison County.
Such a ticket carries a $110 fine and counts for six points — the equivalent of three speeding tickets — against a driver’s license.