BEAUMONT -
After several complaints of railroad crossing law violations in Beaumont, police officers are getting training to improve safety at the crossings.
Officer Jeff Manzer is receiving this hands-on training to better enforce the law.
"As a police officer, it's good to come out here and get refreshed on this," says Manzer.
Using grant funding, the Department of Transportation hosts these seminars in cities where there are high numbers of violations. A red flag warning prompted the Beaumont seminar where there have been multiple complaints.
One of those complaints is a violation called "chasing the train."
During the seminar, 12News cameras caught one car "chasing the train", where it began speeding past the flashing lights before the guards came completely down.
"You can't go around the gates. Whenever those gates go down, you have to stay and wait," says Manzer.
You must also come to a complete stop when lights are flashing.
Manzer says "A lot of people think 'Well if I stop when lights are on and look both ways, it's like crossing the street. I can go across.' No you can't. You have to stay and stop until lights turn back off."
During Wednesday's training, officers spotted two people trespassing onto private property owned by railroad companies.
"People need to understand that railroad property is private property and walking on the tracks or crossing the tracks where there's not a crossing or bridge is illegal," says Jack Hanagriff, FRA law enforcement liaison.
If you walk along the tracks or within 50 feet, that is considered private property and is a Class B misdemeanor. That violation could land you jail time.
If you violate the law at a railroad crossing, it's a Class C misdemeanor and you could be ticketed.
Beaumont police will continue training on Thursday where officers will be on trains and near trains looking for violators.
