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FAIRMONT - During the lunch hour Tuesday, a few motorists got an unpleasant reminder about trying to beat a train through a railroad crossing.

Nine citations were issued to motorists who ignored stop signs or signals for an oncoming train. During one crossing around noon at North State Street, at least four vehicles went across the tracks when the signals were active and the train was approaching.

"It's typical of what we see every day," said Dirk Peterson, a regional manager for Union Pacific. "The majority we saw did comply, which is good, but those who didn't, they needed to be stopped and educated."

According to Fairmont police officer Bryan Boltjes, several people were stopped at the North State Street crossing, while others were stopped at the North Prairie Avenue crossing.

"You see it every day, and some vehicles were stopped just for going through the stop sign even though the train wasn't in sight," Peterson said.

The two locomotives went back and forth across Fairmont as part of Operation: Lifesaver, run by Union Pacific. All four crossings in Fairmont - from County Road 39 to North State Street - were surrounded by officers from the Fairmont Police Department, Martin County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol.

"Our service area is from St. James to Mason City," Peterson said. "The area we have from Duluth to Des Moines, from Sioux City to Adams, Wis., we have about 2,000 crossings, or about 10 percent of the Union Pacific railroad crossings nationwide ... Last year, we had 13 crossing collisions, which is a record low for us."

But as Tuesday's operation showed, there are still motorists who either don't get the message or aren't paying attention.

"We're a busy society," Peterson reflected. "People are busy calling or texting, changing a CD, making the kids behave. It seems the last thing we do when driving is drive."

While busy people on the road may growl about why such a practice is done during a busy lunch hour, Peterson points out it is the time when it's most apt to get everyone's attention.

"Just the word of mouth when we say, 'So-and-so got a ticket,' it gets people thinking," Peterson said. "We hope to get that message out."