Union Pacific, local law enforcement team up for Officer on a Train event

Local law enforcement and Union Pacific teamed up Tuesday in an effort to educate people on railway safety for an event called Officer on a Train.

The point is to prevent crashes like the deadly one last week in Shelley. Writing tickets isn’t the goal of the operation.

“It’s about educating the public. In my mind, a perfect day would have no citations,” said Kim Davids, state coordinator for Operation Lifesaver.

Those involved want to keep drivers safe in these types of crashes, it’s not just the driver who is affected.

“Engineers and the conductors on the trains many times tells us of the stories of the train crashes they’ve been involved with,” said Idaho State Police Lt. Chris Weadick. “And a lot of them wear those scars on their shoulders. “

“Now you’re going to find people who say ‘Well the train is big and it’s really solid, there’s a lot of steel, of course the train crew is safe.’ Well yeah, physically: mentally we live with it the rest of our lives,” Davids said.

Davids has experienced some of those crashes.

“It’s kind of like being at war. You have that same effect: post-traumatic stress syndrome, and it just keeps coming back and coming back,” said Davids.

It’s important to remember that trains can’t stop on a dime. It’s up to drivers to make sure they are not on the tracks.