Railroad crossing restraint lacking

POST FALLS — City, county and state police officers were busy writing tickets all over the Prairie Thursday as part of their Officer on a Train enforcement program.

According to Travis Campbell, Idaho state coordinator for Operation Lifesaver, police issued 61 railroad related citations, handed out 17 railroad related warnings and wrote 12 non-moving violations. Five people were ticketed for not wearing seat belts and police assisted one motorist during the exercise.

“We had quite a busy day out there,” Campbell said. “Unfortunately that’s the standard.”

Campbell said Kootenai County has the highest number of railroad-related automobile accidents in the state.

“When you go back 10 years and look at the data, Kootenai County is No. 1,” he said. “This is a target-rich environment.”

Campbell said motorists need to heed the crossing signs.

“When red lights start flashing, that is a stop sign,” he said.

The enforcement program is one of three parts of the Operation Lifesaver effort, which include engineering and education, designed to eliminate car/train collisions, Campbell said.

The Officer on a Train program puts one officer in the lead locomotive of a train as a spotter. This officer observes traffic approaching the highway rail intersections as the train proceeds.

Other officers pace the train or are parked at specific locations. When a motorist is observed violating the laws pertaining to the approaching intersection, the officer on the train radios a chase car which stops motorists, explains the dangers and issues a citations.

During 2014, there were 22 car/train collisions and four trespassing incidents statewide. This year to date, there have been 12 car/train collisions reported and five trespassing incidents.

Campbell said Operation Lifesaver conducts eight Officer on a Train exercises per year across the state. It holds two each year in Kootenai County.

“People just don’t follow the laws,” he said.