The citations were issued to motorists who allegedly failed to obey railroad crossing signals, or were in violation of safety laws at non-crossing railroad property, St. Landry Parish Capt. Jimmy Darbonne said.
"We're not doing this to write tickets," Darbonne said. "We're doing this to make people aware of the dangers of disobeying railroad signals, or walking on railroad tracks. They can get killed."
St. Landry Parish is one of 12 "target parishes" in Louisiana, because of the prevalence of train-related accidents here, said Pat Edwards, executive director and state coordinator for Louisiana Operation Lifesaver. From 2005 to 2009, there were 23 train-vehicle crashes in the parish, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Louisiana ranked sixth nationally in train-vehicle crashes. In the first 10 months of 2010, there were 93 such accidents in the state, with 13 fatalities and 54 injuries.
As for trespassing incidents — accidents on railroad tracks and property not at crossings — there were nine fatalities with six injured in the state.
Since 2005, the parish has made a concerted effort to increase awareness and education and, in turn, make railroad areas safer.
"We go everywhere from preschools to nursing homes, and we have a program for every age group," said St. Landry Parish Detective Eddie Thibodeaux. "We're just trying to make people aware of the dangers."
Darbonne said unmarked, unlit rail crossings are the most dangerous. He spent 22 years as a trooper in the Louisiana State Police, and has worked more than his share of train crashes.
"I was rising on one of these Operation Lifesaver events years ago, and the train hit a vehicle that tried to outrun it. It was terrible."
Operation Lifesaver is national, nonprofit education and awareness program dedicated to ending tragic collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and on railroad rights of way.
Operation Lifesaver promotes education for public awareness at crossings, enforcement of the traffic laws relating to crossings, and Engineering for continued research and innovation to improve the safety of railroad crossings.
Operation Lifesaver checkpoints occur quarterly in the parish.
Violations of state law governing incidents on railroad tracks can carry up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $500.
Story provided by: dailyworld.com
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