Union Pacific is urging motorists to use caution when crossing train tracks over the Labor Day weekend.
The Omaha railroad notes that the weekend is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. UP Police Chief Robert Morrison says motorists should always be on the lookout for a train when crossing tracks. Because of a train's size and weight, he says, it's too late to stop it once an engineer sees a vehicle on the tracks.
Union Pacific says it has reduced grade crossing incidents by 37 percent across its rail network since 2001. Still, 266 people died and 991 were injured in 2011 in grade crossing collisions across the U.S.
