RAILROAD CITATIONS CRACKDOWN NETS 37 MOTORISTS AT CROSSINGS.Byline: CHARLES F. BOSTWICK Staff Writer LANCASTER -- In a crackdown crack·down n. An act or example of forceful regulation, repression, or restraint: a crackdown on crime. Noun 1. prompted by the death of a pedestrian and a crash in which four teenagers narrowly escaped alive, sheriff's deputies and railroad police Railroad police is a type of security police responsible for policing railroad (or railway) lines. In the United States and Canada, they are employed by the major Class I railroads, as well as some smaller ones. on Tuesday ticketed motorists who stopped on railroad tracks or ignored crossing bells and lights. The operation, in which nine deputies and three Union Pacific railroad Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Pacific was authorized to build a line westward from Omaha, Nebr. police officers cited 37 motorists while stationed for about four hours at most crossings in Palmdale and Lancaster, is expected to be the first of several aimed at getting motorists to obey railroad signals, officials said. ``The problem is people don't take the railroad seriously. They think they can beat the train,'' said Steve Smith of Operation Lifesaver Operation Lifesaver is a 501(c)(3) educational organization in the United States dedicated to promoting safety at railroad grade crossings and railroad rights-of-way. Inc., a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. highway-rail safety group. Of the citations, about half were for stopping on the tracks while waiting for red lights, and half were for driving through warning bells and lights, including at least two motorists who drove under gates as they were lowered. ``Throughout the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Union Pacific has stepped up its enforcement and education programs for informing and educating motorists and pedestrians about dealing with the dangers around railroad tracks,'' said Union Pacific police officer Tim Nehrling, the railroad's western region police public safety officer. In April, a California City man was killed at Avenue J in Lancaster when he ran in front of a fast-moving freight train, trying to get across the intersection before the mile-long train blocked it. That death came a day after a teenage couple was hit and killed by a Metrolink passenger train as they walked along the tracks in Newhall. Two weeks ago, a car containing four teenagers drove through the Avenue J crossing after the driver said his brakes failed. The car hit a Metrolink locomotive locomotive, vehicle used to pull a train of unpowered railroad cars. Types of Locomotives The steam-powered locomotive played a key role during the development and golden age of railroading, but, despite its long and picturesque history, it has , then spun around and ended up on the adjoining Union Pacific tracks. The teens got out before the car was hit by a freight train. In 2003, a 75-year-old woman died at the Palmdale Boulevard crossing when a Metrolink train slammed into her station wagon as it sat stuck in traffic. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) A sheriff's deputy prepares to pull over a driver under a railroad crossing gate in Lancaster on Tuesday. (2 -- color) A Union Pacific police officer stops a motorist on tracks at Sierra Highway Sierra Highway is a road in Southern California, United States. It runs from Tunnel Station near the north limit of the City of Los Angeles, where it intersects with San Fernando Road and Foothill Boulevard, as well as Interstate 5, and continues north to Mojave, mostly paralleling . Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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