Broward police agencies dole out 500+ citations in less than two weeks of railroad crossing enforcement
A line of cars crept over warning paint and across railroad tracks, then pulled up to a red light at Hillsboro Boulevard and Dixie Highway on Thursday morning. The drivers stuck in the middle of the traffic sat still on the tracks. They had no escape if a train came barreling down.
“Look at that, it’s like follow the leader,” said sergeant Allen Adkins of the Broward Sheriff’s Office. He and two deputies were stationed at the Deerfield Beach tracks, which services Florida East Coast Railway freight trains and high-speed Brightline commuter trains.
A Brightline train had passed through just two minutes earlier. Adkins reflected on the close call and signaled for one of his deputies to start writing tickets.
In a span of two hours before 9 a.m., Adkins and his fellow officers cited more than 15 drivers for railroad safety violations at the crossing in Deerfield Beach on Thursday alone. This routine had become like clockwork over the previous 10 days of Operation Crossing Guard, which ran from June 6 to June 17 and increased patrolling near railroad crossings in response to an uptick in collisions with trains.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office partnered with Brightline, the Florida Highway Patrol and police departments in Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Wilton Manors and Hollywood for the operation. Public education served as the stated goal, with officers reminding drivers of the often fatal risk in trying to beat a train across the tracks, or ignoring signage.
During that time frame, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office reported a total of 540 traffic violations along countywide railroad crossings: 157 citations for stopping on railroad tracks, 146 for driving around closed gates, 122 for stopping too close to closed gates, 90 for blocking intersections and 25 for pedestrians walking around closed gates. Citations were made in the sheriff’s office’s Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Oakland Park and Dania Beach districts.
Citations made for nonmoving violations, like stopping too close to closed safety gates or along open tracks, result in a $115 ticket. Moving violations result in a $205 ticket and include actions like illegally crossing through tracks or attempting to drive around closed gates.
Adkins explained some of the safety concerns. “If a train comes through and debris falls off then hits the track or a driver, that debris acts as a weapon,” he said. He also pointed out that stopping at the stop bar before the safety gates could prevent fatalities in the event of a derailed train.
On June 7, the second day of the operation, 84-year-old Liesel Hulden died in a fatal collision with a Brightline train in Oakland Park. She turned onto the railroad tracks as the warning signals began flashing and the safety gates lowered. For an unknown reason, as stated in a Broward Sheriff’s Office news release, she stopped.
“The reaction time to put a foot to the pedal is about 2.5 seconds,” Adkins said, “and some people freeze.”
The train conductor attempted to brake before the collision, according to the news release, but couldn’t stop in time.
”People just aren’t used to a fast moving train in South Florida yet,” said Miranda Grossman, a public information officer with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
At least 50 people have been killed in pedestrian and traffic accidents involving Brightline trains since they began operating in Florida five years ago. The high-speed trains now have the worst per-mile fatality rate in the country.
Brightline paused all operations in March 2020 due to the pandemic, but began running again about one year later. The trains now have active stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Stations in Orlando, Aventura, Boca Raton and Port Miami are under construction. The Orlando station, which will add hundreds of more miles in railroad tracks, is expected to open next year and will transport riders from Miami to Orlando in approximately three hours.
Though Operation Crossing Guard has formally ended, Adkins said the county aims to continue strengthening its railway patrol efforts.
The Federal Railroad Administration also approved $2 million in funding railroad safety earlier this month. The money goes toward abating pedestrian trespassing and suicides.
According to a news release from the administration, Broward County Sheriff’s Office receives $120,000 for “a three-pronged approach addressing traffic enforcement, pedestrian trespassing, and a special focus on homeless outreach with an overarching goal of ending train-related casualties.”
Hollywood Police Department also receives $120,000 to prevent railroad trespassing. Palm Beach County’s Sheriff’s Office receives $120,000 to address railroad trespassing in the City of Lake Worth.
