(The following story by William Johnson appeared on the Daily World website on November 6.)
OPELOUSAS, La. — After two train-car collisions in a week, law enforcement officers in Opelousas, Eunice, the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s office and the State Police are stepping up enforcement.
“This is about making people aware of how dangerous these crossings can be,” said Det. Eddie Thibodeaux with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s office.
In 2004 St. Landry Parish led the state in the number of fatal crossing accidents.
Thibodeaux said local law enforcement officers began stepped up enforcement and education efforts to reverse this appalling statistic and achieved impressive results.
“Last year we had the lowest accident rate in the state,” Thibodeaux said.
But with two accidents in a single week, he said it is time to remind drivers again.
Officers throughout the parish Wednesday took part in Operation CARE – Crossing Accident Reduction Enforcement. During the day-long effort, extra officers were stationed at various crossings throughout the parish to ticket motorists who failed to follow the law.
Thibodeaux said the laws about railroad grade crossings are simple. “If the lights are flashing, you must yield to the train and never, ever go around a crossing gate,” Thibodeaux said.
Cars are also required to stop at least 15 feet away from the crossing.
Helping with the enforcement effort was Senior Special Agent Jim Herring with the Union Pacific Railroad.
Herring said increased enforcement is especially important with the approaching holiday seasons. The number of trains on the tracks increases during the holiday period and more cars on the roads, often in a hurry to get to shops or visit with relatives.
“This time of year people are in a hurry, they are not really thinking. We just don’t want anyone hurt,” Herring said.
As far as the railroad is concerned, the responsibility for preventing train-car accidents rests almost exclusively with the motorists.
Even at a moderate speed, it takes a large freight train about a half mile to stop once it has applied its emergency breaks.
“That’s the equivalent of 18 football fields,” Thibodeaux said. “The train can’t swerve to get out of the way. All they can do is apply their breaks.”
Thibodeaux pointed out that even if the race between a train and car turns into a tie, it is the car that is going to lose.
“A train weighs 12 million pounds. Your car weighs about 3,000 pounds,” Thibodeaux said. “If a locomotive hits a car, it is like a car hitting a tin can.”
To help raise awareness, Herring said Union Pacific is focusing on the three Es – education, enforcement and engineering.
Education involves visits to schools, civic groups, almost anyone who will listen.
In terms of enforcement, Herring said the railroad works with law enforcement agencies throughout the region its serves, such as Wednesday’s increased patrols across the parish, which result in 23 people being ticketed for crossing violations.
The final E is engineering and Herring said Union Pacific is currently spending more than $2 billion-a-year to upgrade its tracks and make other improvements.
It is also working with the state Department of Transportation and Development on efforts to upgrading some of the crossings in the area.
For instance, based on accident and enforcement statistics, the DODT is in the process of installing crossing guards at the Wallior Street crossing in Opelousas.
“The engineering plans have already been sent in. Hopeful the crossing will be upgraded in the next year,” Herring said.
Thibodeaux urged motorists approaching a railroad crossing to “look, listen and live.”