Unblinking Eye Spies on Rail Gate Crashers

For those stupid enough to believe a vehicle of thin metal is a match for a rushing 50,000-ton train at a railroad crossing, fair warning: It’s going to cost a lot more money, beginning Jan. 1, for those caught playing such an insane game of chicken.

The fine will more than double for crossing the tracks once a signal light is on and the gate arms are coming down--from $104 to $271.

And rail officials plan to push harder to catch more people.

Railroad safety has been much in the news lately. The six Compton deaths at a rail crossing last week and the Nov. 18 near-disastrous Fullerton crash of two trains are only two of numerous recent local incidents. We’ve had six deaths in Orange County this year.

“Safety has to be our No. 1 concern,” said Sarah Catz, a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority board and the Metrolink rail board.

One step: Catz is asking the Metrolink board for a six-month extension of the experimental surveillance cameras at Santa Ana’s Chestnut Street railroad track intersection.

In a pilot project, from April through October, the two cameras at Chestnut caught hundreds of motorists illegally trying to beat a train. Some raced across the tracks after the warning flashers and ringing bells had gone off but before the gate arms could be lowered. Others simply made an “S” move with their vehicles to go around the lowered gate arms to cross to the other side.

Pictures of violators, and their vehicle’s license plate, are turned over to the Orange County sheriff’s office. The fine comes in the mail.

Chestnut was the only Orange County crossing under surveillance by Metrolink. Catz wants its cameras to go back up for another six months.

“The results were just too inconclusive,” Catz said. “We’d like to take another shot at it.”

Warning signs in both directions at the Chestnut crossing told motorists they would be on camera. Metrolink wanted to see if the presence of the cameras was enough to deter motorists from trying it. But Metrolink officials say the data they’ve gathered just aren’t enough to tell if the cameras are making a difference.

The cameras did show that at least someone, every day, illegally tried to beat the flashers, bells and gate arms.

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“We can see a lot of people slow down just seeing the warning sign about the cameras,” said Oscar Mayn, who works at a nearby machine shop. “But we also see some people race like crazy to make it across when a train is coming.”

Why such idiocy? Catz theorizes some people probably do it because they’ve done it before and succeeded.

If another six months show the cameras getting results, Catz said, she will push for more cameras spread along railroad crossings throughout the county.

Workers at Evans Roofing Co., the business closest to the Chestnut Street tracks, point out another serious problem:

Westbound traffic seriously backs up between the tracks and the stop sign at Standard Avenue, a block away. The Evans workers say that at 5 p.m., when traffic is at its worst, they’ve seen vehicles backed up to the point some are stuck right in the middle of the railroad crossing. Then when a train is coming, they have to scramble to get off the tracks.

The Evans workers’ suggestion is a good one: A huge “Wait Here” sign should be posted on the west side of the tracks, to point out to motorists the potential problem.

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Jerry Hicks’ column appears Monday and Thursday. Readers can reach Hicks by calling (714) 564-1049 or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com.