Become a law enforcement officer [:-^]
BAKERSFIELD - Local law enforcement agencies and Union Pacific Railroad teamed up Thursday in hopes of making railroad crossing safer.
The Bakersfield Police Department and the Kern County Sheriff’s Department took part in a Railroad Crossing Awareness Operation.
Law enforcement officers rode trains to see how drivers behave at crossings.
Full story here
Typical Operation Lifesaver program.
UP did that our here about 4 or 5 months ago. They issued quitew a few tickets from what I was told. Close to a couple dozen. Nice to see it happen
The Green Bay and Western railroad, when it was around, did this a long time ago. I have a VHS copy of the stories that the local TV station, WBAY, did to accompany this program. The TV station caught on camera the following vehicles going around gates that were down with lights flashing and bells going:
It was pretty incredible to see that. People got in some serious trouble over this. A member of the Green Bay PD was on the loco as was a cameraman for the news company. The camera man was able to catch plate numbers and other identifiable things on almost every vehicle that did run the gates. The results? Most of the drivers did get big citations and some of the commercial drivers lost their jobs. As a result of this ‘investigation’ the TV station did there were some changes enacted for some of the companies involved regarding their policies of what to do at grade. A ‘sting’ several weeks later showed that more vehicles were respecting gates and crossings when trains were there. So for at least a while…things seemed safer.
It is scary to think that even state transportation employees are crossing tracks illegally. This is an interesting and probably pretty effective way to catch people who are trying to beat trains to the crossing. it will be intreresting to see it other police departments in other areas start to do this.
In my one-and-only cab ride in a non-tourist engine, we were crossing the Saskatchewan prairies. All I had to worry about were prairie dogs, who had a remarkable ability to scuttle off in the nick of time.
Seeing all that humanity breaking the law and common sense, day after day: I think it would unnerve me.
al
To answer your subject question “Do you want to ride in a locomotive?” my answer is: I want to ride about 4 or 5 cars back with a video camera and record a signaling movie. 
Interesting shot under the editorial in the most recent Trains - notice that the car is sitting on the wrong side of the road, next to (not behind) the crossing gate. I would surmise it is so he will not have to wait for the gates to go up after the train clears. Impatient, impatient, impatient…
I’m a school bus driver in Texas and every other year or so my district gets the Operation Lifesaver guy from BNSF to come out. He told us that the engineers on the trains have forms to record information on someone who runs gates and signals. The two groups that the train crews are most likely to squeal on are school bus drivers and gas trucks. Obviously, us because we can carry up to 72 kids in a school bus and the tanker trucks because that’s the one vehicle on the road that can consistently hurt the train in a crash: an explosion means the crew in the train is toast also. Something like a rock hauler or a metal pipe truck could derail a train, but the gas trucks are the biggie. I’m surprised that anyone driving a school bus or a gas truck would be that dumb just from knowing that the train crew would go out of their way to get you fired.
Personally, I think that any good citizen should report a school bus that is trying to beat a train through a crossing. If that results in the firing of a bus driver that gives no regard to the safety of the children, then so be it.
The Wheeling and Lake Erie do that around here from time to time.Of course,that draws the usual complaints from citizens,like “entrapment”,and “Why aren’t the cops out catching rapists and murderers”.I’m all for Operation Lifesaver,but after 30+ years on the road I’m convinced NO amount of information is gonna change the actions of the “motoring public”.Next time you’re at a crossing,look at the car(s) in front.Nine times out of ten it will be angled to the left as if to go around the gates.
You’re right. It’s called self-serving selfishness…people putting their own shallow wants ahead of others safety and well being.