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Law enforcement cracking down during U.S. Rail Safety Week

Posted at 7:45 PM, Sep 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-27 00:29:04-04

Law enforcement nationwide is cracking down on drivers who pass through railroad crossings too soon.

“Just wait those couple extra seconds for those red lights to stop flashing, then it’s safe to proceed through the crossing,” said Utah Transit Authority Chief Safety and Security Officer Dave Goeres.

UTA, UHP and UDOT are all working together with a national group called Operation Lifesaver, and are aiming to educate drivers about how to safely proceed through a railroad crossing.

“The rule that they forget most often is it’s the red lights that control the crossing, not the gate arms,” Goeres said.

In Utah in 2016 alone there were 129 railroad crossing crashes.  Last year there were 320 gate arms broken from drivers, and it cost Utah taxpayers $250,000 to fix them.

To learn more about railroad crossing safety, visit Zero Fatalities on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/zerofatalities/videos/10155058170683129/