(The following article by Ildefonso Ortiz was posted on the Brownsville Herald website on September 24.)
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Rather than pull over vehicles trying to beat an oncoming train on his cruiser, Brownsville Police Sgt. Ray Rosas kept a watchful eye on traffic Thursday, in the last place drivers expected him to be — riding in a locomotive.
From the engineer’s cabin, Rosas radioed several motorcycle officers who were waiting by the railroad crossings to teach traffic violators a harsh lesson: look, listen, live.
“Imagine an aluminum can being run over by a car — that’s just like colliding with a train,” he said. “They told us that it takes about one mile for a fully loaded train going at 30 miles an hour to stop. If they wanted to stop, they couldn’t.”image
Rosas and representatives from other local law enforcement agencies, including the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department, San Benito and Harlingen police, took part in an educational program dedicated to avoiding collisions between automobile and trains.
The operation began at the old Union Pacific rail station in Brownsville and continued to Harlingen.
“This is the Texas Operation Lifesaver,” said Alfredo Rodriguez, a K-9 special agent for the Union Pacific Railroad Police Department. “Today, we are having officer training and community awareness. We strive to provide public awareness about the dangers of ignoring railroad crossings.”
Rodriguez said the officer training included a seminar as well as having various officers ride the locomotive for an insider’s view.
The officers would also radio ground units so they could issue citations for those who ignored the signals.
“Trains always have the right of way, that’s the law,” Rosas said. “Trains can be very unforgiving. There should never be an excuse as to why you got into an accident with a train.”
The fine for disregarding a railroad stop sign is about $270 — that is, if there is no accident.image
“This is just like running a red light, but with a train,” he said. “People have to realize that because of the weight involved, you are 40 times more likely to die from a train collision than from an automobile one.”
According to Police Lt. James Paschall, Brownsville Police issued five citations during the exercise for ignoring the signals.
Rosas became frustrated with drivers’ audacity for trying to beat the train in view of the ground units.
“You can be right there in front of them, and they still do it,” he said. “I gave a couple of calls, but they (ground units) where there and caught quite a few others. They are pretty good at that.”
Operation Lifesaver was established in 1972 and was designed to reduce railroad accidents. It began as a one-time state operation in Idaho, but soon grew and became a national organization.
“We are active in 49 states,” Rodriguez said. “We have this exercise once a year.”
The agent said it’s important to educate the community, referring to the death of San Benito resident Leonel Cardona, 44, who died Sunday night while trying to crawl under a moving train.
“Accidents happen because people become impatient and rush, or complacent and forget the dangers,” Rodriguez said.