Railroad Crossing Gate

Beat the train, pay the fine

For anyone that has ever been sitting at a railroad crossing and watched as someone went around the gates or stepped on the gas to avoid waiting for the train to cross, there is a campaign being held next week that organizers are hoping will bring an end to such behavior.

John Schumacher, division of public safety officer with the Union Pacific Railroad said that the Crossing Accident Reduction Education and Safety (CARES) program, has taken place in Conway since 2000 and will see several officers with the Conway Police Department riding the rails to observe drivers breaking the law. Several other officers with CPD as well as railroad officers will be on the ground ready to write tickets to those who break the law.

“This program is really an eye opener for drivers,” Schumacher said. “Anyone that has a tendency to drive around the gates will be in for a surprise when they get pulled over and given a ticket. We’d be perfectly happy to have no citations written but sometimes if you hit people in the pocket book, they pay more attention.”

The goal of the program, which will take place on August 17 in Conway, is to provide public awareness of the dangers of trying to beat the train. 

Schumacher said he believes most people do not realize how long it takes an engineer to stop a train or they would not risk trying to beat it.

“It takes a train with one hundred cars that is traveling at 50 miles per hour, at least a mile to stop,” he said. “For anyone that is in the middle of the tracks when the train is coming, even if the train is trying to stop, you are still going to get hit. People are 25-30 percent more likely to die when a train hits their vehicle as opposed to an accident between two vehicles.”

For anyone who doubts the severity of the damage that can be done to a vehicle if it is struck by a train, Schumacher provided a clear mental image of what a vehicle endures.

“We are talking about something with the weight of anywhere from 10,000-20,000 tons coming at you,” he said. “Even if the train is trying to stop, what will happen when it hits a vehicle is the equivalent of someone hitting a Coke can with their vehicle. It just isn’t good.”

Schumacher said that even though Conway has not had an incident in several years, it is still a serious issue that needs to grab the community’s attention. His hope is that for every ticket written more people hear about the incident from the person who received the ticket.

Report of railroad crossing gates malfunction – West of the I

At 9:46 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy is responding to a report of the railroad crossing gate at Highway C and 258th Court, Trevor, being down without a train present.

UPDATE 9:59 a.m. — Deputy confirms report. Railroad being called.

UPDATE 10:03 a.m. — Gates at 256th Avenue also down with no train visible, deputy reports.

UPDATE 11:01 a.m. — Deputy reports gates still down. Railroad being asked for an estimated time of arrival for repair crew.

UPDATE 11:06 a.m. — Dispatch reports railroad expected on scene by about 11:15 a.m.

Railroad Crossing, Californians and the Railroad, 1850-1910

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