Officer on the Train program has driver safety in mind

So far in 2015, Idaho has seen three train and vehicle accidents. Local law enforcement agencies and Union Pacific have teamed up to keep that number down.

Nine railroad crossings are in Pocatello and rail workers, the Pocatello Police Department and the Bannock County Sheriff’s Department are used to seeing drivers drive through them when they shouldn’t.

“People have forgotten that they need to stop and wait for the train,” said Travis Campbell, state coordinator for Idaho Operation Lifesaver. “That’s why we have a lot of incidents in this area.”

It’s a bad habit they want to break, which is exactly what the Officer on the Train program intends to do. By placing a police officer on a Union Pacific train, if a driver is seen violating a railroad crossing law, another officer is notified so the driver can be stopped and issued a citation.

The point of the program is to educate drivers about the dangers of their driving, not to write tickets.

“Those signal are there to protect you,” said Pocatello Police officer Clint Goss. “So let’s make sure you heed those and maybe you don’t have to get my autograph.”

Under Idaho law, vehicles must stop when the crossing lights flash, electric bell sounds or when crossing gates lower. At crossings with a crossbuck, drivers need to yield to a train at least 1,500 feet away, or a quarter of a mile.

Police have one thing to say to drivers that get to close to trains.

“If you’re in your car and you run over an aluminum can, a soda can, that’s about what you car is like to that train. The train can’t swerve, the train can’t stop,” Goss said.

Officer on the Train is a statewide program that has runs throughout the gem state. On today’s ride, Bannock County and Pocatello Police made 11 stops.