Police Issue Citations During Railroad Enforcement

Editor's note: The following is a press release issued by the :

In conjunction with the Canadian National Railway Police, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad Police and Union Pacific Railroad Police, the Plainfield Police Department conducted an enforcement detail at the railroad grade crossing located on Route 126 east of Route 59 on Aug. 21. 

The focus of the enforcement was to cite drivers who disobeyed activated railroad signals, stopped their vehicle within the railroad grade crossing, or failed to stop when driving a vehicle required to stop, such as a school bus.  During the detail, the following citations and written warnings were issued: 

• 18 citations for stopping within railroad grade crossing
• 4 citations for operating uninsured motor vehicle
• 4 citations for failure to wear seatbelt
• 2 citations for disobeying a no passing zone
• 1 citation for expired registration
• 3 warnings for stopping within railroad grade crossing 

Not only is it against the law to stop your vehicle on the railroad tracks, it is also against the law to stop your vehicle anywhere within the highway-rail grade crossing. Highway-rail grade crossings are typically marked by white stop lines located on the pavement in advance of the crossing, and if not marked by white stop lines, the highway-rail grade crossing extends from protective gate arm to protective gate arm.

All trains overhang the rails by three feet on each side, and wide dimensional loads on trains can overhang the rails by up to five feet on each side. In addition, when vehicles illegally stop within the highway-rail grade crossing, the protective gate arm will lower itself on to the vehicle. This will result in damage to both the protective gate arm and vehicle.