Passenger Trains > Richmond Police/BNSF Ticket Train-Crossing Scofflaws

BNSF, Richmond police team to ticket train-crossing scofflaws
By Karl Fischer
West County Times
Posted: 03/24/2009 08:21:07 PM PDT
Updated: 03/26/2009 06:10:35 AM PDT

The driver idled near the intersection of Harbour Way and Wright Avenue in south Richmond, listening to the bellicose horn blare, and eyeing a massive orange engine trundle up the tracks.

Train neared. Car idled.

Then, as if prompted by some sudden mental gear-shifting, car rolled deliberately through the intersection ahead of train.

"Naw, I let him go with a warning. He looked like he was about 90," Richmond motorcycle Officer Ramon Middleton said with a chuckle. "But that second guy, he cut it so close that I had to let the other officer (on the other side of the tracks) get him."

Richmond police wrote tickets for 13 drivers and pedestrians and warned several others about cutting it too close around rail crossings Monday afternoon, part of Burlington Northern Santa Fe's ongoing national effort to raise public awareness about the danger of toying with simple physics just to shave time off the commute.

BNSF ran an engine up and down its lines through town for several hours to facilitate the enforcement.

"People don't want to wait the couple of minutes it takes for the train to pull through the crossing," said Lena Kent, spokeswoman for the BNSF Railway Co., watching the line near the corner of South First Street and Cutting Boulevard. "Even while we were standing here, we just saw a car round the track in front of the engine."

Richmond, like many cities in the West, grew up around its railroad tracks. They criss-cross the guts of the city, dividing heavily populated neighborhoods in the south and central parts of town.

Well-beaten footpaths lead locals across weedy rail easements every day on their way to work or school, especially in well-trafficked corridors such as the intersection of Carlson and Cutting boulevards, or the parallel tracks that divide North Richmond from Rumrill Boulevard in San Pablo.

Perhaps because trains become part of the static landscape in such cities, it's easy for those who grow up here to forget that the enormous, hurtling chunks of metal that the rails carry are not really static at all.

"People just don't realize how difficult it is to stop a train," Kent said. "In downtown Richmond, they move at relatively low speeds, but it still takes a long distance. A train moving at 55 mph needs a mile and a half to stop."

And even low-speed collisions with such massive objects cause terrible damage. In the past year, local police have investigated collisions and near misses involving both cars and pedestrians. Five died in Contra Costa County train collisions last year, according to coroner's records.

Railroads work hard to educate both the public and municipal authorities about common-sense safety, through programs such as Operation Lifesaver, an international nonprofit that sponsors a wide range of curriculum and law enforcement efforts such as the one in Richmond on Monday.

BNSF worked with police in San Bernardino and Riverside counties earlier this month, resulting in 85 and 75 tickets, respectively, mostly to motorists trying to beat the train. Their efforts seem to be paying off, Kent said, noting that her company reported this week that trespassing incidents on rail easements around the country decreased 19 percent during January and February compared with the same period last year.

"It's so important for people to know," Kend added, "that if it's a tie, the train is going to win."

> Richmond, like many cities in the West, grew up
> around its railroad tracks. They criss-cross the
> guts of the city, dividing heavily populated
> neighborhoods in the south and central parts of
> town.

I would add that "like many cities in the West," there was a failure to elevate/lower the tracks through these areas years ago--a real shame, and one that would cost a fortune to do now!

Chicago (the old Pennsy/NYC) has that wonderful raised trackage south of 21st St--the only way to go.

So does Port Clinton, Ohio. The Rail is elevated through town.

It really doesn't matter if you raise the track to separate the grade people still find a way to get themselves to that shiny tops of rail. Not to sound negative there IC but when they separated the tracks in San Carlos you still had close calls and worn out ballast from the trails made where they cross. Do believe there has been some fatalities on there too. I was talking with someone not to long ago about this stuff. The guy told me how often do you see the acts we see on the rails done on the freeways. Get the cops out and bust these people, a ticket, a fine, and hopefully a lesson learned.

Radum

raillady Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> BNSF ran an engine up and down its lines through
> town for several hours to facilitate the
> enforcement.
>

Doesn't this fit the definition of entrapment...kinda, sorta?

Nick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Doesn't this fit the definition of
> entrapment...kinda, sorta?

Nope.

I support the ticketing and stepped-up awareness campaigns... but I wondered the same thing. Wouldn't this constitute a slam dunk for beating the ticket?

Surely BNSF has enough lawyers on the extra board that they'd have buttoned this up. I'd guess they'd say operating railroad equipment for safety checks in conjunction with law enforcement fits a normal operational profile.

As a sidebar, your Honor, I cannot believe the stupidity I see daily at Seattle's Broad Street crossing of the BNSF. How long have we had as a culture and society to figure out that trains run on those tracks? A century to a century-and-a-half?

Nail 'em, Officer...and don't let the 90-year-old guy off next time either. He deserves a chance to learn, and to live to be 119!

"Doesn't this fit the definition of entrapment...kinda, sorta?"

In my view, there is no such thing as entrapment. When someone says they were "entrapped", often what they really mean is "aw, come on...that's not fair! I really didn't think I would get caught". Sometimes people will do things that they KNOW is wrong...if they think they can get away with it. If they knew they would be caught, they would likely choose not to do it.

I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice says that I have to obey the law. I don't run stop signs, smoke dope, or drink and drive. I also stop at railroad crossings when required to do so. I don't do these things because I am in the Navy, or because the UCMJ says I have to obey laws that civilians are required to obey. I do it because it is the law and the price of 1. commiting an infraction (conscience), and/or 2. getting caught (legal) is more than what I am willing to risk. I have something to lose. Unfortunately, too many people have nothing to lose and don't care about consequences, no matter what the price (your life).

I say give them all tickets and tell them that their potential value to their community is too great to be wasted in an avoidable collision. Install photo equipment like the red light cameras. It reduces the number of people running red lights because they're afraid they're going to be caught. This will be effective at grade crossings, too.

A couple of examples of entrapment:

There are no trains on the track. The officer just has a switch to short the track circuit and brings the gates down when he sees a car coming then leaves them down until, finally, the driver goes around them. Then the cop nails the driver for disregarding a crossing signal. (Do some states have a loophole for when the gates or stop lights malfunction?)

At a grade crossing with only signals/bells but no gates, as a train approaches and the drive is stopped at the signal, on the other side the cops have a beautiful, naked woman gets out of a car with a flat tire and starts crying. The driver, of course, disregards the train, the lights and the bells and rushes across the tracks to offer his assistance.

Enticing the driver to violate the law is the key to being considered entrapment.

IC_2024 Wrote:

> I would add that "like many cities in the West,"
> there was a failure to elevate/lower the tracks
> through these areas years ago--a real shame, and
> one that would cost a fortune to do now!
>


Yeah, but us foamers would be pissed, because we wouldn't get to hear those K5LA's blaring all day and night.

I recall one night running a train on fourth of july, from San Carlos to Belmont you had folks sitting and standing along the ROW watching the fireworks show in the area. All were totally ignorant to the trains passing, or really didn't care for their own agenda was all they had in mind.

I say put one of those Mini-Guns on the front of the equipment.


radum Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It really doesn't matter if you raise the track to
> separate the grade people still find a way to get
> themselves to that shiny tops of rail. Not to
> sound negative there IC but when they separated
> the tracks in San Carlos you still had close calls
> and worn out ballast from the trails made where
> they cross. Do believe there has been some
> fatalities on there too. I was talking with
> someone not to long ago about this stuff. The guy
> told me how often do you see the acts we see on
> the rails done on the freeways. Get the cops out
> and bust these people, a ticket, a fine, and
> hopefully a lesson learned.
>
> Radum

raillady Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> BNSF ran an engine up and down its lines through
> town for several hours to facilitate the
> enforcement.
>

I'm curious what happens when one of these special Operation Lifesaver moves hits someone and kills them at a grade crossing. Would the fact that the train operated for the sole purpose of seeing if the victim would try to beat it have any bearing on the legal ramifications?

With all of the regular train movements going through Richmond every day, I cannot understand why they need to add another one just to enforce existing laws.

I'm not saying we shouldn't run regular, revenue trains... but running an engine back and forth to catch people violating the law seems a bit twisted to me and a little less safe than ideal. It's like putting out a bunch of hot stoves in a first grade classroom and spanking any kid that touches one.

Just my two cents....

AdamPhillips Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> In my view, there is no such thing as entrapment.

Yes, but in the view of the law there is, and for good reason. The role of law enforcement is to apprehend those who break laws of their own volition, not to test individual citizens' resolve by creating specific circumstances that make it more appealing to break a law than it might otherwise be.

An analogy might be an undercover cop approaching someone with an offer to pay well for a specific item if the person would be willing to steal it from its rightful owner (entrapment), vs. the police setting up a fencing operation "sting" in which they make it known they'll buy stuff without asking questions and then arrest those who come to them with stolen goods (not entrapment).


> Install photo equipment like the red light
> cameras. It reduces the number of people running
> red lights because they're afraid they're going to
> be caught. This will be effective at grade
> crossings, too.

That's a good idea. Simple, effective, and much less arbitrary.

Dave

raillady Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BNSF, Richmond police team to ticket
> train-crossing scofflaws
> By Karl Fischer
> West County Times
> Posted: 03/24/2009 08:21:07 PM PDT
> Updated: 03/26/2009 06:10:35 AM PDT
>
> The driver idled near the intersection of Harbour
> Way and Wright Avenue in south Richmond, listening
> to the bellicose horn blare, and eyeing a massive
> orange engine trundle up the tracks.
>
> Train neared. Car idled.
>
> Then, as if prompted by some sudden mental
> gear-shifting, car rolled deliberately through the
> intersection ahead of train.
>
> "Naw, I let him go with a warning. He looked like
> he was about 90," Richmond motorcycle Officer
> Ramon Middleton said with a chuckle. "But that
> second guy, he cut it so close that I had to let
> the other officer (on the other side of the
> tracks) get him."
>
> Richmond police wrote tickets for 13 drivers and
> pedestrians and warned several others about
> cutting it too close around rail crossings Monday
> afternoon, part of Burlington Northern Santa Fe's
> ongoing national effort to raise public awareness
> about the danger of toying with simple physics
> just to shave time off the commute.
>
> BNSF ran an engine up and down its lines through
> town for several hours to facilitate the
> enforcement.
>
> "People don't want to wait the couple of minutes
> it takes for the train to pull through the
> crossing," said Lena Kent, spokeswoman for the
> BNSF Railway Co., watching the line near the
> corner of South First Street and Cutting
> Boulevard. "Even while we were standing here, we
> just saw a car round the track in front of the
> engine."
>
> Richmond, like many cities in the West, grew up
> around its railroad tracks. They criss-cross the
> guts of the city, dividing heavily populated
> neighborhoods in the south and central parts of
> town.
>
> Well-beaten footpaths lead locals across weedy
> rail easements every day on their way to work or
> school, especially in well-trafficked corridors
> such as the intersection of Carlson and Cutting
> boulevards, or the parallel tracks that divide
> North Richmond from Rumrill Boulevard in San
> Pablo.
>
> Perhaps because trains become part of the static
> landscape in such cities, it's easy for those who
> grow up here to forget that the enormous, hurtling
> chunks of metal that the rails carry are not
> really static at all.
>
> "People just don't realize how difficult it is to
> stop a train," Kent said. "In downtown Richmond,
> they move at relatively low speeds, but it still
> takes a long distance. A train moving at 55 mph
> needs a mile and a half to stop."
>
> And even low-speed collisions with such massive
> objects cause terrible damage. In the past year,
> local police have investigated collisions and near
> misses involving both cars and pedestrians. Five
> died in Contra Costa County train collisions last
> year, according to coroner's records.
>
> Railroads work hard to educate both the public and
> municipal authorities about common-sense safety,
> through programs such as Operation Lifesaver, an
> international nonprofit that sponsors a wide range
> of curriculum and law enforcement efforts such as
> the one in Richmond on Monday.
>
> BNSF worked with police in San Bernardino and
> Riverside counties earlier this month, resulting
> in 85 and 75 tickets, respectively, mostly to
> motorists trying to beat the train. Their efforts
> seem to be paying off, Kent said, noting that her
> company reported this week that trespassing
> incidents on rail easements around the country
> decreased 19 percent during January and February
> compared with the same period last year.
>
> "It's so important for people to know," Kend
> added, "that if it's a tie, the train is going to
> win."

What's the BNSF doing in Richmond? Oh, there's another Richmond? Is it in a state? I wonder what state it's in.

Richmond, CA

I for one won't even go but to say a few weeks ago how one young person nearly got ran over by No. 3 when he was right on top of San Francisco St. comin' in for the usual station stop and I told the crew about it! I'm hopin' BNSF really enforces this stuff when they head out this way, these idiotic college students (which most of them are) really don't even care for their own saftey for cryin' out loud!