Safety prompts Lowellville crackdown on ‘gate crashers’

LOWELLVILLE — Police Chief William Vance said his department is cracking down on drivers who go around lowered railroad safety gates.

Vance said trains arrive within 25 to 30 seconds after a new movement-activated signal system, installed by CSX Railroad at its crossings at First and Third Streets, lowers the safety gates.

Trains come through Lowellville at 50 miles per hour, and it is not safe for drivers to weave through the gates trying to beat the trains, he said. The police chief said the situation is particularly hazardous because in the past drivers were accustomed used to the gates being down for a long period of time while trains were stopped at a nearby switch station. Now, he said, if the trains are stopped, and there is no motion.

“We’ve been citing people who ‘crash’ the gates. A train hitting a car is not a nightmare we want,” Vance said.

Alcorn@vindy.com