LA HABRA : Officer Takes Train to Nab Lawbreakers

One La Habra police officer rode the rails on Friday. Three other officers rode motorcycles.

Working together, the four officers issued six citations and seven warnings during an hourlong crackdown on motorist and pedestrian safety violations along railroad tracks in the city.

“We call this event ‘Trooper on the Train,’ and it’s part of a national effort called Operation Lifesaver,” said Jim McInerney, of the state Public Utilities Commission.

The PUC has jurisdiction over train operations in the state.

“The chief goal is to educate the public about dangers they put themselves in when they violate laws (about railroad track safety),” McInerney added. “We’ve found that 99.9% of grade-crossing accidents result from violations of the law.”

In the Friday event, one La Habra officer was aboard a railroad engine that made repeated trips back and forth rail tracks in the city.

Whenever the officer spotted motorist or pedestrian violations, he would radio to one of three motorcycle officers, who would then try to catch the culprit.

McInerney said that six violators got away before they could be given a warning or a citation. “You can’t catch them all,” he said.

Police and PUC officials said people in Southern California constantly need reminding of the dangers of trying to outrun a train.

“There’s an increase in grade-crossing accidents in Southern California,” McInerney said.

“In 1991 there were 389 accidents, and that rose to 454 in 1992.”

McInerney said that typical violations by motorists include not stopping when a red light starts flashing and driving around the bars that lower at rail crossings.

Typical pedestrian violations are walking along rail tracks and thus trespassing on that private property, McInerney said.

He said that in all cases the motorist or pedestrian violators are placing themselves in danger.

A train engineer simply cannot stop instantly when a car or pedestrian appears on the tracks, according to McInerney.

“A train traveling at 55 m.p.h. takes one and a half miles to come to a stop,” he said.

“And the relation to a train hitting a car is about the same as a car hitting an aluminum can.”

The “Trooper on the Train” crackdown is periodically held in several Orange County cities and in other parts of Southern California, according to McInerney.

“We just want people to become more familiar with the laws that protect them,” he said.