(The following story by Dolly A. Butz appeared on the Sioux City Journal website on November 19.)
LE MARS, Iowa — The Le Mars Police Department issued eight ticket citations and seven warning citations during a railroad crossing compliance traffic project Saturday.
The goals of the project was to gain compliance with railroad signals, which the police department said in a statement would lead to a reduction in collisions and injuries.
Police said Union Pacific Railroad crews have experienced many near misses at street/railroad crossings within the city of Le Mars.
During the project, an officer road aboard a locomotive through the city observing vehicles in violation of Iowa traffic laws pertaining to railroad crossings. That information was then relayed to officers positioned along the railroad line.
A total of 19 violators were observed from the approaching locomotive. Officers were able to stop 15 of those violators and issued them ticket or warning citations.