KIEFER, Okla. — Next year, engineer Jim Tucker will retire from his job as a railroad engineer after 43 years of service, according to the Sapulpa (Oklahoma) Daily Herald.
In that time he has seen his share of accidents.
He doesn’t like to talk about them.
The last one was in January, when the train he was controlling collided with a vehicle here.
Robert Levi Stephens was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no signs the victim applied the breaks of the car.
Witnesses reported that Stephens apparently did not see the train when he crossed the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks at South 65th West Avenue.
The intersection is diagonal, not a 90-degree angle as traditional intersections are designed. There were no warning lights at the intersection, and the view is somewhat obscured to southbound traffic.
The locomotive struck the left front side of the car and then carried the 1991 Chevrolet down the track for about 100 yards before the auto finally was pushed off to the side of the right-of-way.
The train was traveling at the proper speed of 25 mph, and all of the train’s warning devices were in operation at the time of the collision. But those safety factors don’t bring much comfort to Tucker.
Like dozens of other engineers and conductors in the United States, Tucker saw the accident was about to happen, but was powerless to stop the train in time. That’s why Operation Lifesaver, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Kiefer Police Department staged an undercover operation Tuesday to stop people who tried to outrun Tucker’s train and tell them they were playing a dangerous game.
Kiefer Police Chief Stacey White said outrunning trains is “a big problem” in Kiefer.
A total of four warnings and one citation were issued during the exercise Tuesday afternoon.
“Right off the bat, they didn’t want to hit them too hard. Basically, they just wanted to draw their awareness to it,” White said.
The one driver who was ticketed “specifically went and circumvented the (railroad crossing) arms themselves. It wasn’t just the light signals that he ignored,” he said.
Crossing against signal warnings without stopping first is a felony offense, White said.
Railroad Special Agent Doug Kisling, a former Texas state trooper, said drivers need to understand that trains move faster than they appear to be moving, and that drivers must be cautious as they approach an intersection.
“Trains will only be at one spot, and that’s on the track,” he said.
Drivers underestimate the weight and speed of trains, Kisling said. A simple comparison could make them think twice before deciding to beat a train to an intersection, he said.
“An average train carrying three miles of cars weighs about 70,000 tons,” he said. “If that train hits a car, that would be like an automobile going over a full can of (cola).”
White said he plans to speak with local legislators in hopes of finding more funding for safety equipment for the Kiefer police and fire departments.
“If we were to have a major incident like a derailment, we’re not prepared for it,” White said. “I’m not saying our fire department isn’t good, but they’re not prepared (for an incident of that magnitude).”
Another problem is the number of children who ride their bikes or play on or near the railroad tracks while a train is approaching. White said his officers recently ticketed some area parents for letting their children play on the tracks.
He said some children even placed bullets on the track so the train would run over them. The bullets shot off the tracks, and some were found embedded in the old football stadium locker room just west of the tracks.
White said playing on the tracks was a matter of criminal trespassing and a felony offense.
Area residents who are accustomed to daily trains face a greater danger of being involved in an accident than drivers visiting the area.
“Most of the fatalities they have won’t be people from out of town. They’re local people who get complacent,” Kisling said.
The undercover exercises will continue in the Sapulpa area through the month of April. Kisling said officers don’t want to have to write the citations, but they will. Reaching into a driver’s wallet will usually get someone’s attention. White agreed.
“If you look at it from a human life standpoint, it’s already worth it,” he said.
Operation Lifesaver was created in 1972 to educate the public about railway safety, said Jim King, area program director.
King said he and other volunteers visit schools and community centers to tell people about the dangers of playing on the railroad tracks and why they shouldn’t try to outrun trains. He said within the first six months of Operation Lifesaver’s existence, the number of deaths by collision dropped by 40 percent.