(The following story by Louis Galvan appeared on The Fresno Bee website on May 28.)
FRESNO, Calif. — Nearly five dozen motorists were cited Wednesday during a railroad crossing safety enforcement campaign in Fresno.
For three hours, officers ticketed motorists for things such as stopping on the tracks or trying to beat crossing arms before they came down.
The operation was sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad and conducted over about a 12-mile stretch along the railroad’s corridor between Herndon and Jensen avenues.
It involved 13 officers from the Fresno Police Department’s traffic bureau, the California Highway Patrol and Union Pacific Railroad.
The operation was one of several that are being held throughout the state this year, said Todd C. Conley, a Union Pacific police officer and coordinator of the safety program in Northern California.
Conley, whose home base is in Roseville, said a similar operation was conducted recently in Modesto, and another is set for June 11 in Livermore.
He said Fresno was chosen for Wednesday’s operation to spread the word about the dangers of violating railroad crossing rules not only to the Fresno area, but to communities in nearby Madera and Merced.
Conley was unable to provide any statistics, but he said it’s no secret in the railroad industry that the Central Valley has a serious problem with crossing violators.
Wednesday’s program included two back-to-back freight train locomotives to transport reporters and photographers up and down the Union Pacific line to observe the safety operation as the officers on the ground watched for violators.
Conley said many of the 58 citations that were issued during the program were handed out at the Shaw Avenue and Golden State Boulevard crossing in northwest Fresno’s Highway City neighborhood, which, according to Fresno police, has long seen a problem with rail crossing violators.
Conley said most of the citations, not only at Shaw and Golden State, were for so-called gridlock violators — motorists who stop on the tracks while waiting for red traffic signal lights to turn green.
That’s illegal and dangerous, because trains cannot always stop on time, Conley said.
Another common problem, he said, is motorists trying to beat crossing arms before they go down, or going around the arms after they are down.
Several citations were issued Wednesday to drivers who allegedly were seen speeding across the railroad tracks as the arms started to go down.
“We’re hoping these type of programs will show people how dangerous it is to be on the tracks when you are not supposed to,” conductor Lynn Thomas said.
“It’s all about saving lives.”