(The Shreveport Times posted the following article by Kym Klass on its website on April 24.)
SHREVEPORT, La. — If there’s one message Lt. J.D. Viola wants to stress to drivers approaching railroad crossings with an oncoming train, it’s this: Stop.
“These trains will kill you,” the Bossier City police officer said.
About 16 officers from police departments in Monroe, Grambling, Shreveport, Bossier City, West Monroe and Caddo Parish took part in a two-day training class designed to familiarize state and local law enforcement personnel with railroad crossing safety and accident investigation.
Aside from classroom instruction, the officers learned how to investigate collisions and about laws pertaining to railroad crossings.
Kansas City Southern Railroad, in conjunction with Louisiana Operation Lifesaver, took law enforcement on train rides through Bossier City as part of the outdoor exercises of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
Officers rode the trains in order to receive a bird’s-eye view of what takes place before an accident, such as vehicles driving under railroad crossing arms as they come down.
Viola issued two citations for that Wednesday after monitoring tracks on Barksdale Boulevard for less than 30 minutes.
One driver’s excuse: “Said he had plenty of time to make it,” Viola said.
Others weren’t so lucky.
There were 161 train-car collisions resulting in 93 injuries and 22 deaths in 2001 – a 57 percent increase from the previous year -ranking Louisiana fourth in the nation for the number of fatalities at railroad crossings, and second to Texas for injuries.
Perhaps some of those accidents were due to what officers witnessed Wednesday as they rode a train along the tracks on Barksdale Boulevard. A bus failed to stop at the tracks at Barksdale and Airline Drive, and cars sat on tracks at Barksdale Air Force Base as the train approached.
There were no close calls Wednesday, but the faults garnered enough talk with officers and the train operator.
“This is a bad crossing right here,” train operator Josh Wynn of Shreveport said of the BAFB intersection. “If you hit somebody, it looks like a bomb went off.”
Through an increase in patrol, the goal of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s training was to raise awareness among drivers of the consequences resulting from failing to obey warning signs at railroad crossings.
Allen Pepper, manager of public safety with Kansas City Southern Railroad, said another goal is of the training was to educate officers about safety.
“It’s not an environment they’re in every day,” he said, describing Wednesday’s ride.
He said training is conducted between five and 10 times a year throughout the state.
Patrol officer Dennis Wall with the Monroe Police Department said there are between 60 and 70 railroad crossings in the city, and he learned Wednesday what it takes for a train to stop, what information to retrieve at an accident scene and whom to contact.