SAN DIEGO -- San Diego police are targeting people who try to beat trains by stepping up patrols near 11 railroad crossings in the downtown area.

Robert Duncan has been riding the rails for 15 years and said he has had quite a few scares.

"I've had three close calls. I hit one pedestrian, one automobile … no fatalities," said Duncan.

Last year, 86 people were killed by trains in California, the highest number in the nation. Operation Lifesaver has been set up to educate people about the rules of the railway.

Some of the rules have been blatantly ignored, and in one amateur video clip shot before a Padres game earlier this month, several fans ignored the horns and crossed right in front of the freight train. In the footage, several people were seen crawling underneath the stopped train, and one person climbs over it to make his way across.

"I think it's crazy. They're taking their life in their own hands. It's different for us because we know when these things are going to move. If you're crawling under a piece of heavy equipment like that, you have no idea what might happen," said Duncan.

During the first hour of Wednesday morning's enforcement sweep, officers caught a man walking on the tracks, a driver stopped past the white lines at a crossing and a driver who went around rail gates.

The fine for crossing in front of a train starts at around $200 but can quickly escalate. Officers said expect to write up to a 100 tickets during the five-hour operation alone.