To think level crossings need to be banned

[Friendofmine8]

Or at least all monitored by CCtv at all times? I just feel they cause awful risk to both people on food and in cars.

Let's ban plug sockets too. They can be dangerous too.

We have one in our town. 2 days ago the barrier didn't come down, trains still whizzing through. Luckily no-one hurt.

They are quite easy to understand really. The vast majority of people on foot and in cars negotiate them with no problems at all.

That's absolutely awful for the girls, their families and also the driver of the train, whose trauma is often overlooked in a case like this.

But if it's the case from 2005 (I can't find any others with a quick Google), the girls were rushing to catch a train on the opposite platform when they stepped out in front of another train. The red lights and sirens were on to warn of its approach, and they opened a gate to cross the line.

You can't legislate against that.

Gosh, could have been nasty. But, out of interest, were the lights flashing as well? On the one near us it's flashing lights, siren and barrier. So hopefully even if the barrier didn't come down hopefully people would still stop if the sirens and the lights were flashing.

I crossed a railway line twice a day, Monday to Friday, to get to my school bus stop for 7 years. So did my brother and all the other kids in our street and the next.

None of us got hit by a train.

You’re more likely to be hit by a car. We should ban cars! And roads!

@RobBeckettsGiantTeeth

They did, because a train had just gone past so they assumed it was safe, they did not realise that a second train was coming.

The rail company had been advised 3 years before to have automatically locking gates, which they had not actioned.

They plead guilty to criminal negligence.

My point is - accidents happen and people make errors. They are not idiots and or should some of the disgusting comments on this thread go unchallenged.

More accidents are caused by trousers according to RoSPA…should we ban them too. I often have to cross two level crossings, one has a barrier and one doesn’t. Have never seen an accident or near miss because the instructions are clear. As I approach I anticipate them like I do with traffic lights. I actually love seeing the trains rush past. As they go at tremendous speed! People need to take note of the lights, alarm and if applicable the barrier, only crossing once these stop as there can be more than one train on the line.

I know, it's an awful case. But the lights and klaxons were still on. I grew up near a level crossing. I knew that meant that there was still another train coming - why didn't they? They didn't look - they can't have done, because they were hit immediately. Perhaps they hadn't been educated about it, I don't know. Is that anyone's "fault"?

Even with locking gates, people would just jump over them. Because, like you said, people assume. They make a split-second decision and get it wrong. Hell, we've all seen videos of people in vans trying to drive through barriers that are already down.

I don't know what the answer is, but you can't legislate against this stuff, or provide a safety net for every decision someone might make. You really can't.

Just adding to the " it's sometimes the barriers fault".
My life would be infinitely better is the barriers would reliably reopen in windy conditions.
But id rather they failed "safe" than didn't close at all like the article linked to above.

I agree with you, @RobBeckettsGiantTeeth - you can make them as safe as possible but there will always be the potential for human error and accidents.

I'm not against level crossings at all. I'm against Mumsnet users who are horrific keyboard warriors in their lack of understanding and empathy (not you, by the way).

Well, I did make the gene pool comment, so I'll hold my hands up to that. But I was thinking more of people like the aforementioned van drivers who barge through the gates because their assumption that they can play chicken with a train and win is greater than their need to not kill themselves (or people on the train).

In a case like this I have to wonder why they didn't think to look, or why they didn't know that the lights and siren still being on means another train is still to come. I thought everyone who grew up near a level crossing knew that, but perhaps they hadn't been told. Perhaps they forgot. Who knows.

I was driving the other day and someone stepped out in front of me. The pedestrian had their hood up obscuring their peripheral vision, clearly had noise cancelling headphones on under the hood because they didn't hear the horn, and they just kept ambling across the road after I'd stopped, thankfully without hitting them. They decided they were going to cross the road then and there without any thought to whether it was safe. I mean... how do you build road safety legislation around that degree of obliviousness?

I agree

I think schools should teach about them

Such a weird thread to post and run

We have had accidents in our village. But our crossing are not as everyone is describing here. You open and close the gate yourself after using the phone to check its safe to cross. No lights, no auto barriers. We had someone die years ago (who happened to be my now partner friend), he made a wrong decision of not driving full over before attempting to close the gate behind him.

I think some of these comments are disgusting.

And parents.
Not all life lessons should be left to the schools.

Yes. Of course. But I think its so important that schools need to be covering it too. For those who have shit parents

I'm struggling to visualise this. Did he stop his car on the level crossing to close the first gate behind him before opening the gate on the other side to exit it?

If so, that's a massive design flaw that someone is able to do that, but equally I'm struggling to understand how someone could not know to never stop your car on a level crossing.

Is it education? There were so many public education films on TV about this when I was growing up, but they're not really a thing any more. I remember one that specifically dealt with what to do if you stalled your car on a crossing.

Personally I think people should be gently wrapped in cotton wool and placed safely in a cocoon until death.

Alternatively we can take some personal responsibility and try to foster the same in our children. That leaves the health and safety focus to address exploiters and the vulnerable rather than stupid adults who think they know better than signs, gates and warning lights.

Yes, I believe that's what he did. I guess he assumed he had time.

Here is a couple of our crossings. It looks as though they have updated one since I last went with the green light.

No, the lights weren't flashing either. Thankfully people were stopping the cars.

We had one of the CCTV campaigns in the area where I used to live. Some guy was on his phone on the edge of the crossing - looking away from his toddler who was sat in the middle of it picking up stones from the track.

I kid you not, somebody posted, “you all should BE KIND, you never know what someone else is going through, he might have been on the phone to the Samaritans!!!”

Some people will go to such lengths to avoid just accepting that people need to take personal responsibility.

Hello Everybody,

Yes, I think you can see why HS2 was cancelled now? Those darned level crossings.
The North West won't be blighted with more of those annoying and dangerous things. 😇

Ok. In that case let's also ban:

Pedestrians crossing the road
Bicycles and motorbikes
Alcohol
Bleach & other strong cleaning chemicals
Escalators and stairs
Trampolines
Horse riding
Off Road hiking

All of those responsible for a relatively high number of deaths.

Level crossings are easy to navigate. It's idiots that cause the issues, not the crossings themselves.