Cops Looking for Railroad Crossing Violators Thursday

Drivers will be ticketed for stopping on or too close to the tracks and for other infractions, Plainfield police say.

Plainfield police will be keeping an eye on railroad crossings Thursday, watching for drivers who park too close to or on the tracks or break other laws governing train crossings. It's also against the law to disobey activated railroad signals, for school buses drivers and vehicles carrying dangerous substances to not stop and look for trains before crossing the tracks, and for pedestrians to walk on railroad right of way, Traffic Sgt. Eric Munson said in a media release. Anyone who receives a ticket must appear in court and can be fined up to $750. The enforcement is being conducted by Plainfield police with the assistance of railroad police from Canadian National, Union Pacific and BNSF.

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Drivers who Break RR Crossing Laws Exasperating, Traffic Sergeant Says

Despite almost monthly crackdowns, such as the one conducted Tuesday, police still find drivers who stop too close to or on top of the tracks.

If patience is a virtue, some Plainfield commuters found themselves in short supply Tuesday afternoon and may soon be forking over fines as high as $750 because of it. Making the rush-hour drive from Interstate 55 to Route 59 on Route 126 is no picnic, but neither is it license to ignore the Rules of the Road, especially when it comes to how you deal with railroad crossings, Plainfield police Sgt. Eric Munson said. Yet every time he conducts a railroad crossing crackdown, such as the one that took place Tuesday at the crossing between Center Street and Bartlett Avenue, police never fail to nab drivers who stop too close to or on top of the tracks or commit other crossing violations.   Munson said he finds it exasperating, especially since …

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Erica

8:48 pm on Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thanks for the update on that. I can't see the point in suspending someone's driver's license after they obstruct train passage though - since that would usually end in the vehicle being hit by the train.   more ›

We Asked

Tickets for Crossing Violations: A Good Thing, or Bad?

We asked Average Joes and Janes to tell us what they think of the monthly campaigns in which people are ticketed if they break train crossing laws.

Since the beginning of the year, the Plainfield Police Department has conducted monthly campaigns to catch drivers who break train crossing laws, including one today to be done in conjunction with Canadian National Railway and Union-Pacific. Over that period of time, more than 50 people have received for such infractions as stopping a vehicle on the tracks,  stopping too close to the tracks and disobeying activated railroad signs. Lesley Neubaum, 28, of Plainfield, said she thinks the increase in police enforcement is a positive effort to improve public safety and awareness. “I think it’s great, so people keep their distance from the tracks,” Neubaum said. “I think with the increase train traffic since the Canadian Railway started in the …

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