(The following article by Debra Lemoine was posted on the Baton Rouge Advocate website on June 22.)
DENHAM SPRINGS, La. — Law enforcement officers rode the rails Tuesday through Livingston Parish, giving dozens of drivers expensive lessons about how vehicles can break the law at railroad grade crossings.
A Livingston Parish deputy and a state trooper with police radios were aboard a freight train traveling alongside U.S. 190 between Albany and Denham Springs.
In communication with the pair aboard the train were other law enforcement officers stationed along the train’s path to help observe whether cars and trucks crossing railway intersections as the train approached were doing so legally, or illegally.
The special enforcement effort at railroad crossings is done periodically to inform drivers of the laws that apply at grade crossings, said Trooper Johnnie Brown, spokesman for State Police Troop A.
The recent spate of deaths of people in vehicles colliding with trains at crossings in the Florida Parishes has brought the issue of how vehicles interact with trains to the attention of the Legislature.
The Legislature approved a bill Tuesday giving the state Department of Transportation and Development the authority to close crossings it deems unsafe despite opposition by local officials and residents.
So far, there have been 13 deaths involving collisions of trains and vehicles in Louisiana this year, eight of the deaths in the Florida Parishes.
The most recent train-related death in Livingston Parish occurred April 26 when a Holden High School senior was killed a week before graduation when his truck collided with a train at a crossing near the school.
In the meantime, law enforcement officials use special enforcement details to inform drivers of the proper way to handle vehicles at railroad crossings. Tangipahoa Parish authorities teamed with State Police Troop L in May and issued 180 citations to motorists.
“The train has the right of way,” said State Police Capt. Aaron Chabaud, commander for Troop A. “He can’t stop; the driver can. The idea is to educate the public.”
State Police Troop A, along with five law enforcement agencies in Livingston Parish, issued 94 citations Tuesday, 70 percent of them related to railroad crossing violations.
Citations issued included failure to yield at railroad crossings, stopping on tracks or failure to stop when the train is in “hazardous proximity,” Brown said.
About 30 percent of the tickets were issued for not wearing a seatbelt, lack of child restraints, expired inspection stickers and speeding, Brown said.
Drivers of certain vehicles, such as school buses and trucks carrying hazardous material, are required to stop and look before crossing any railroad track, Brown said.
Chabaud said the number of tickets issued shows the need for more driver education about railroad crossings.
“Our top priority is preventing motorists from hurting themselves when crossing railroad tracks,” Walker Police Chief Hunter Grimes said. “We want them to realize they should be paying attention.”
Responsibility is shared by both trains and vehicles for the crashes that occur, said Betsey Tramonte, spokeswoman for Louisiana Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit group that promotes train safety.
But a car has a better chance of stopping in time to prevent a collision than a train, she said. The average car traveling 55 miles per hour takes about 200 feet to stop under ideal road conditions, she said.
The average train going 55 mph needs at least a mile to stop moving.
No one was happy to receive tickets for stopping on railroad tracks Tuesday, but some admitted the effort may be the only way to prevent train-related deaths.
“I’ve seen (on TV) where seven or eight died this year,” said Lee Turbevill, a truck driver from Walker. “It’s probably the only way to stop it.”
Traffic citations involving trains carry a mandatory court appearance, and fines start at $175 for a first offense, according to the Livingston Parish District Attorney’s Office.