Brightline, Broward County Sheriff team up for ‘Operation Crossing Guard’
Brightline is joining forces with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office on a crossing safety initiative dubbed Operation Crossing Guard that kicked off with a press conference on June 3 and will run June 6-17. The initiative is described as a traffic enforcement action at crossings throughout Broward County along the Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline corridor.
Since Brightline began operation in 2018, the corridor between Miami-Dade and Brevard counties has seen approximately 60 deaths of motorists and pedestrians. Brightline explains the goal of Operation Crossing Guard with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office is to “address railway fatalities involving motorists and pedestrians through enforcement in hopes of reducing the number of crashes, enforcing traffic laws and continuing efforts to educate the public about the dangers of trying to beat the train.”
The operation will amplify rail safety education to motorists and pedestrians. During the operation, Broward County Sheriff deputies, police officers and troopers will patrol near railroad crossings and cite drivers who drive around lowered safety arms, stop on railroad tracks or commit other moving violations. Drivers cited could receive fines ranging from $115 to $205.
In a social media update on the initiative, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office reported issuing more than 200 citations in the first four days of the operation; these included 86 for stopping on railroad tracks, 52 for driving through or around closed crossing gate arms, 40 for entering a grade crossing without sufficient space to clear, 27 for blocking an intersection or crosswalk and eight for walking around closed crossing gate arms.
Broward County Sheriff’s Office was a recent recipient of a $120,000 Federal Railroad Administration Railroad Trespassing Enforcement Grant that it will use to address traffic enforcement, pedestrian trespassing and a special focus on homeless outreach with an overarching goal of ending train-related casualties.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
