Traveling through a stop sign at a rail crossing at the International Bridge could get you a ticket.
While disobeying any stop sign is illegal, concerns about the Minnesota Dakota & Western Railway crossing at the bridge has got the attention of the International Falls Police Department and MD&W officials.
A camera stationed at the bridge has captured images of many close calls between trails and passenger vehicles.
Darwin Joslyn, MD&W general manager, said not only are vehicles not stopping at the stop signs at the crossings, in many cases they are not even slowing down.
“We have security cameras that look at all crossings, so we’ve been able to provide law enforcement with real good examples of cars driving through, not stopping, and in fact, we gave an example of locomotive half way through the crossing when a car crossed in front of the locomotive.”
Joslyn said there has been a recent noticeable increase in the number of close encounters the MD&W train crews are having with public vehicles at all crossings, but even more so at the port of entry crossing, where there are no crossing arms, but only an illuminated stop sign and rail crossbuck sign.
While no fatalities have occurred there, he said there have been dangerous near misses.
Joslyn said drivers don’t seem to understand that a locomotive alone weighs 125 tons and cars behind it can add 100 tons. The surface area of the wheel contact with the rail is no larger than a dime, he said.
“So if we are entering the crossing, and a car runs in front of us, there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop,” he said. It would easily take 200 feet to 300 feet, traveling at even slow speeds of 4-5 miles per hour as they do at the bridge, before a train could come to a stop because of the weight of trains, he said.
Falls Police Chief Mike Musich said police officers will have an increased presence at the bridge because of the concerns.
“It’s a losing situation with a train,” he said. “People are not taking this seriously.” Musich monitored the situation at the bridge on a recent day when he said he witnessed numerous violations.
Musich said drivers heading north and south at the bridge are violating the stop signs and crossing rules.
An education campaign about the dangers of disobeying the rules at rail crossings will be launched, said Musich, as the city and railroad officials consider options.
Toward that effort, Musich said drivers can expect to get a ticket for violations.
“There certainly are more consequences if you go through this stop sign than others,” he said of the bridge crossing. “People are trying to beat the train, which is totally ridiculous, and others see no train and disregard the stop sign and go straight through. You must obey all stop signs.”
A simple solution, said Musich, is for people to slow down, obey stop signs and drive safely.
“Then we wouldn’t have this issue,” he said. “The railroad should not have to worry about hitting a vehicle and hurting people. Otherwise, we could be spending a lot of money if we look at other safety solutions there. It all depends on the drivers.”
A plan, which has not yet been funded by Congress, for a new port of entry would make for a more friendly vehicle crossing, he said. He was supported in that assertion by Falls City Councilors Monday, when the police chief briefly discussed the crossing concerns.
Musich said County Highway 155, east of the city, experienced many stop sign violations prior to crossing arm installation. “Cars would go through the stop signs there,” he said. “I don’t even know the percentage, but it was a low percentage of people that stopped.”
Joslyn said MD&W staff are safety conscious and concerned about the potential and increased risk of striking vehicles at one of the crossings in the community.
“With the support of law enforcement periodically being visible in the area and helping enforce the laws and communication with the public, we can change the complacency around stop signs and people will start observing that and the problem will go away.”
Joslyn said MD&W has staff trained in Operation Lifesaver, a nationwide nonprofit public information program dedicated to reducing collisions, injuries and fatalities at rail crossings.
“We are willing to provide that program to any group of folks with interest and who would like to get the message out,” said Joslyn.
