Brightline, Broward police agencies start safety crackdown to reduce rail crossing deaths
Brightline, the Broward Sheriff’s Office and several other police departments are launching a joint safety campaign to cut down on the spate of train-vehicle collisions at railroad crossings along the Florida East Railway corridor in the county.
Dubbed “Operation Crossing Guard,” the program is intended to impose “zero tolerance enforcement” of laws designed to keep motorists and pedestrians safe when traveling or walking across tracks.
At a joint news conference Friday at the Brightline station in downtown Fort Lauderdale, officials said the campaign will run from June 6 through June 17 at railroad crossings along the FEC/Brightline corridor throughout Broward County.
A top BSO official said the initiative is an “overt and covert” program in which agencies will be monitoring crossings for people who violate laws already on the books against evading lowered gates, standing on the tracks and trespassing on railroad property. Civil fines range from $115 to $205.
Besides the BSO, participating agencies include the Florida Highway Patrol, and police departments from Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Wilton Manors.
During the operation, which starts Monday, police officers and FHP troopers will patrol near rail crossings and write tickets to motorists who drive around lowered safety gates, stop their vehicles on the tracks or commit other unspecified moving violations. Pedestrians will attract similar scrutiny.
Response to spate of deaths
“This initiative is in response to the high number of tragic incidents our county is experiencing relating to trains,” said BSO Colonel Steven Robson. “In almost all cases people are ignoring and circumventing the warning lights, sounds, safety signs and crossing gates.”
An estimated 64 people have been killed in incidents involving Brightline trains since it started operations four years ago, according to a running analysis by the Associated Press that began in 2019. It has the worst per-mile fatality rate in the country.
“In response to Operation Crossing Guard, there will be zero tolerance enforcement,” Robson said, adding there would be additional initiatives as the year unfolds.
Besides drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists “caught bypassing lowered crossing gates and not crossing at the designated areas will also be ticketed.”
“The odds of beating a train are definitely not in your favor, and the results are just tragic,” he said.
Ben Porritt, who heads the line’s corporate communications arm, said the program is part of a multifaceted safety effort the company has continuously undertaken that includes engineering, education and law enforcement.
“We are relentless about safety,” he said. “It bears repeating that safety is our number one priority. And anyone who comes into contact with the Brightline/FEC corridor, we want to educate them about all of the things necessary to interact with railroad safety.”
In addition to the county program, Brightline, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida East Coast Railway have applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and have said they aim to build “supplemental safety measures at 328 roadway railroad grade crossings” and add other safety features for pedestrians.
The railroad has this advice for people entertaining unsafe conduct around railroad property:
•Never cross tracks when you see a train
•Never trespass on train tracks — it’s against the law
•Never try to chase or outrun a train
•Never walk or bike along tracks
•Never wear headphones or ear buds when near train tracks
Here is the type of conduct the railroad prefers:
•Cross the tracks only where you see designated crossings
•Always look both ways before crossing the tracks
•Drivers should be prepared to stop if a train is approaching
•On approach to a set of tracks, slow down, look and listen for a train
Finally, the railroad advises, use caution when around tracks. Trains may appear to be traveling slower than they really are because of their size.
