(KLFY) — It’s dangerous and illegal to travel around lowered crossing arms at a railroad track.  Despite the double warning, many people continue to do so.

Ron Czajkowski is the Transportation Safety Coordinator of Destination Zero Deaths Acadiana.  Czajkowski reminds us that it’s against the law to go around extended stop arms — even if a train stops moving.

“When you have a crash whether it’s as a pedestrian, motorcyclist, bicyclist, driving your motor vehicle, or whatever; frequently these things end tragically,” Czajkowski said.

The risk of a vehicle-train collision increases when other trains are present on the tracks, especially if they are not immediately visible.  “A train could literally pass your crossing.  You’re looking right at it.  The arms are still down and you decide I’m in a hurry, so I need to go around.  You know that the train is gone, and mid crossing, you can get hit,” Czajkowski added.

Plus, Czajkowski warned that trains are not only quieter than most people realize but also faster. “You can never predict from the inside of your vehicle when that train is about to begin moving or in the case of multiple tracks, when there is another train coming.  It’s not uncommon for a train to stop and allow another one to go by, to pass them, or to go by in the other direction,” he noted.

Czajkowski said when you see tracks, think train.  “That is what you’ll remember every time you approach the railroad tracks, then you’re going to navigate them safer than you would otherwise,” Czajkowski explained.

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