Police Hand Out 50 Tickets During Train Stop Sting

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As a Renton pedestrian collision lawyer working at an Auburn auto accident law firm I know that train safety is one of those things that we don’t often take into consideration because trains aren’t something most of us have to deal with on a regular basis. However, there has been a recent string of tragic accidents that were caused by drivers who decided that they didn’t want to wait for the train to pass and tried to go around the crossing guards; but in this situation the train will always win.

Within three hours on Wednesday morning a group of Snohomish County Sheriffs Deputies and Marysville Police Officers gave out 50 citations, 8 warnings and oddly one DUI to drivers that tried to cross the railroad tracks after the warning lights flashed and to some that stopped on the tracks to wait for a red light. The tickets each cost $124, but hopefully they serve as not only a warning but as a safety lesson to other drivers that following train safety could be a matter of life or death.

The sting operation came about as part of the Washington State Patrol’s “Roads and Rails” project which is aimed at stronger enforcement of current railroad crossing laws. More stings like the one held yesterday are on their way with Seattle Police planning to be out on July 5^th doing the same thing. Train accidents don’t happen often, but when they do the personal injuries are severe and the chances of causing the wrongful death of an innocent victim are high.