Louisiana State Troopers joined forces with law enforcement agencies throughout southeast Louisiana in an effort to educate residents about railroad safety.
On May 18, troopers and sheriff’s deputies from St. Charles, St. John, St. James and Jefferson parishes stationed themselves at various railroad crossings on the Kansas City Southern, Canadian National, and the Union Pacific lines.
The joint enforcement efforts targeted motorists who ignore railroad crossing warning signals as a train approaches and other related traffic laws.
The enforcement detail began at 7 a.m. and lasted until 3 p.m. A total of 328 traffic citations were issued, including 140 for violation of railroad safety laws, 106 seatbelt and child restraint violations and 83 for other violations such as speeding.
Last year, 11 people in Louisiana lost their lives in vehicle crashes with trains. One of those was St. Charles Parish Waterworks employee Jacque Griffin, who lost his life when a train collided with his parish vehicle.
The 11 lives lost was the sixth highest number of such fatalities in the nation.
Louisiana state law requires motorists to obey signals at railroad crossing that indicate an approaching train with flashing lights and lowered gates. Failure to obey these signals may result in a $200 fine and 30 days in jail for a first offense with higher fines and increased jail time for additional violations.
The fine for racing a train is $1,000.
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