(The Associated Press circulated the following article on June 14.)
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana needs to improve safety at railroad crossings, by closing the most dangerous and cracking down on motorists who violate traffic laws at the intersections, state House committees decided on Tuesday.
The House Transportation Committee passed a bill by Sen. Art Lentini, R-Metairie, that would give the state highway department the power to force local governments to close crossings that are deemed too dangerous. Local politicians are often reluctant to do so, because their constituents consider it an inconvenience.
Railroad companies, which support such closures, would pay the cost of closing the intersections.
The committee approved the Senate-passed measure without objection, sending it to the full House.
The House Appropriations Committee passed another bill, by Rep. Don Cravins Jr., D-Opelousas, that would toughen the sentences given to motorists who violate traffic laws at railroad crossings, such as stop signs and crossing lights. The bill would increase the maximum fine for such a first-offense violation from $175 to $250.
The measure passed without objection, but still must make it through the full House, Senate committees and the full Senate as time runs out on the legislative session, which ends June 23.
Thirteen people have died in vehicle collisions with trains at such crossings in the state this year, a pace that could approach a record for Louisiana set in the 1960s. The state is routinely among the top five states in the nation in such wrecks, according to Operation Lifesaver, a group that tracks the accidents nationwide.