VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) — Police departments nationwide are being asked to issue more tickets for violations at railroad crossings because of recent crashes in New York, California and North Carolina.

After a fiery train-car collision killed six people in New York in February, Metropolitan Transportation Authority police are issuing summonses at six times last year’s rate.

A second fatal crash in California prompted the Federal Railroad Administration to announce a nationwide safety campaign, encouraging local police departments to bump up their patrols at crossings and issue more citations.

The Railroad Administration says there have been more than 10,000 crashes at railroad crossings in the last five years, causing more than 1,200 deaths and almost 4,700 injuries.

On Saturday, a light rail train hit a car in front of the University of Southern California, seriously injuring the driver and the train’s operator. Nineteen other train passengers were hurt.