Vanderburgh County sheriff's deputies will issue tickets, not warnings, to drivers who violate railroad crossing rules during Indiana Rail Safety Week, the county sheriff's office announced via FOX Carolina News.

The enforcement decision marks a shift from the customary educational approach, under which officers at crossing violations typically issued verbal or written warnings during safety campaigns. This time, deputies in the southwestern Indiana county — home to Evansville — plan to cite offenders directly.

The campaign runs under the banner of Indiana Rail Safety Week, a statewide initiative focused on reducing collisions between road vehicles and trains at level crossings.

Why ticket rather than warn?

Enforcement-led campaigns respond to a persistent problem: drivers who cross tracks against active signals, go around lowered gates, or stop on the crossing itself. For rail operators, each such event carries the risk of a derailment, a track closure, or a fatality — outcomes that warnings alone have not eliminated.

By moving straight to citations, Vanderburgh County deputies aim to attach a direct cost to crossing violations during the awareness week. The approach treats the violation as a traffic offense rather than a teaching moment.

Who is involved?

• Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office — the agency conducting enforcement at crossings in the county.
• Indiana Rail Safety Week — the statewide campaign framing the initiative.
• Drivers — the enforcement target, specifically those who violate crossing rules while the operation runs.

The announcement does not specify which crossings deputies will monitor, how many officers will take part, or how long the ticket-only posture will last beyond the awareness week itself.

What it means for operations

Crossing enforcement of this kind sits alongside engineering measures — gates, lights, grade separation — as one of the tools available to cut vehicle-train collisions. Local police activity at crossings can reduce risky behavior in the short term; whether the effect holds after the campaign ends depends on sustained enforcement.

Vanderburgh County's decision to skip the warning stage signals that local authorities view crossing violations there as serious enough to warrant immediate penalties. Drivers caught violating crossing rules during the week should expect a citation on the spot rather than a caution.

Indiana Rail Safety Week continues with additional activities aimed at cutting crossing incidents statewide, with the Vanderburgh County enforcement action among the locally led components of the campaign.