The train whistle blasts, the red lights flash and drivers stop their cars at the tracks. Right?

Well, not always.

Some drivers who zipped across railroad tracks before crossing gates could drop last week got some special attention from local police.

Officers from Farmington and Rosemount and the Dakota County Sheriff's Office partnered with Union Pacific Railroad to teach drivers the rules of railroad safety.

The event was part of public outreach by Operation Lifesaver, a national nonprofit that works to end collisions, deaths and injuries along railroads and at railroad crossings.

"This is important," Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows said.

He said there haven't been any recent deaths or injuries at railroad crossings in Dakota County, but he has seen people drive around crossing gates and hit the gas to cross the tracks when lights start flashing.

"That's just a disaster waiting to happen," Bellows said.

Officials from Union Pacific said that the railroad crossing at County Road 42 in Rosemount is one of the hot spots for reports of broken crossing gates -- a sign that drivers are hitting them.

In about two hours of extra enforcement on Wednesday, June 2, with a Union Pacific locomotive chugging up and down the tracks, the officers cited three drivers and issued warnings to 10 others who blew past the flashing lights before the crossing gates came down.

"When those lights are flashing, people have to stop," said Mike Koscinski, an officer with the Union Pacific Police.

Twelve to 15 trains travel the tracks daily through Rosemount and Farmington.

It takes about a mile for most trains to stop, and if they hit a car, it's a lot like a car running over a soda pop can, said Joe Caffin, Union Pacific's director of train operations in South St. Paul.

In 2009, 15 people were killed and 19 were injured at railroad crossings in Minnesota. That's up from 2008, when there were six people killed and 20 injured because of collisions at crossings or trespassing on railroads.

In Dakota County last winter, Bellows said a train struck a snowmobile, but no one was injured.

"We have the potential here," he said.

And officials are quick to note that each railroad crossing is different, and drivers should pay attention even if the railroad crossing is rural and appears less traveled.

"Take the time to look, because not every train track is a signaled intersection," Bellows said.

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056