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.

Only people don't watch TV anymore...just apps and streaming. I'd say we'd need to bring back the ad's from the 80s about not playing in dumps, not going near railway lines, staying away from powerlines.

It seems adults need it as well as kids (mainly as children aren't allowed out of sight until they are about 15 according to some on here)

Remember don't play in the fridge on an abandoned waste ground.

I remember watching a film at school about train track safety. Put the fear of god into me.

Where I lived was rural. We didn’t have any level crossings but a large number of unmanned stations. Some of them were even request stops!

If the lights are flashing....stop. even if the barriers are not down yet.
How hard is it to stop when the lights are flashing?
Play stupid games and win stupid prizes, IMHO

That's very true, and those of us who grew up watching this stuff are now in some cases two generations removed from the kids that need to have this stuff drummed into them. There are parents who are too young to remember what became of the kid that went into the power station to get his frisbee or Tufty's mate when he got taken out by an ice cream van.

A few of them already have CCTV, but so what? That doesn't help the idiots who cross when the lights are flashing or who go around the barriers.

Not every crossing has lights.

There was also an old man who fell close by to us on a crossing recently. The barriers went down. Luckily people were close to help him and it was picked up. Barriers were raised to allow people to help him off the line.

Looks like an average of 12 deaths a year. I mean, compare that to the 700 people who die falling down the stairs or the 34 people who die each year by mixing bleach with other chemicals when cleaning the bathroom - actually, can we ban cleaning first?

What will cctv do to prevent accidents? There are lights, alarms and barriers for cars. I assume there are failsafes for these. Trains usually give several warning beeps at pedestrian crossings without barriers, some of these have lights. They provide a safe place to cross. I’m not sure what the alternative could be if we do away with them

I'm over them most days on community visits and they're generally the automated unmanned ones with lights and barriers. The issues we have are that they run off the train timetable and will remain down until the train has passed - even if it's delayed, which means that they can be down for 20 minutes at times (that I've personally encountered) which not only causes traffic mayhem, but leads to people increasingly taking risks and cutting it fine trying to get across before the barriers come down.

If you blocked them all - I would have around a 20 mile diversion to one of my regular sites for visits - in both directions, multiple times a week. Would create issues and make me reconsider if my current job is sustainable with the sheer amount of additional travel it would create for me - like I say - lots of my visits are out in rural areas with a mainline running through - so lots of level crossings.

They still terrify me though and I'm incredibly cautious on them.

It would cost billions to get rid of level crossings. Billions.

Network Rail has already got rid of a lot of them and has a programme to continue getting rid of them wherever possible.

They do present risks and are far from ideal, but are very safe if used the way they're meant to be used.

Anyone who ignores the flashing lights at a level crossing are idiots

DH and I were talking about this yesterday when we were waiting at a level crossing. Close to us a new bridge is being built over (a different) one. It must cost millions.

And all because people won't wait, and take stupid risks? I am not sure we should be spending millions, but DH did point out the disruption when someone gets killed on the railways.

I do wish they'd bring the barriers down a bit later though, you can be sat/stood waiting for about 5 minutes with no trains in either direction. However, I know it's not always an exact science with signalling.

I always look very carefully before I cross one as well - even if the signal is green and the barriers up.

I don't really like bridges, because I am scared of heights and some new ones are very high and have low barriers so I think they just cause a different sort of danger. I prefer a level crossing even if it involves a wait.

I didn't realise they go off the timetable, that explains why there are often such long waits.

Agreed. Perhaps if they didn't have such a long window when the barriers were down then the reckless risk takers would summon more patience?

Yes years ago I had a commute which took me over a fairly busy railway line and I had a choice between one where there were solid barriers and they came down about 5 minutes early, or one with the half barriers that used to come down a few seconds before. I tended to use the latter as the queues were much shorter and you were much less likely to get stopped there.

We ave two crossings about a mile apart... one a humpback bridge, the other a level crossing.
Its an old bridge, its barely wide enough fir the two lanes of traffic and the very narrow pavement (two people can't pass easily). I prefer the level crossing really...

When the bridge was built the traffic volume was a lot lower. Since then a college has been built one side, and a tourist attraction the other side, add that to the quarry trucks and farm traffic...traffic volume is very high, especially mid afternoon in summer.

And how would you expect people to get from one place to the other?? We have a lot of level crossings where I live, I couldn't get to the nearest main town without going over one. As well a gated crossings there are crossing where you simply follow the path over a style and across the track.

They are...well new ones, my town has grown hughly over the last 20 years. So a railway has been mooted...the council completely behind the idea, have permission for more housing and roads assuming a level crossing will be put in place...network rail don't do new ones

They used to! I can remember being shown films about the dangers of railway lines and level crossings when I was at primary school in the 60s. I think they had them on tv, too.

We have loads round my way, including a couple where public footpaths cross railway lines. The latter aren't automatic, but they have kissing gates and lights to tell you whether it's safe or not. And they aren't close to stations, so no-one's going crossing them if running for a train.

Even though I'm very careful when crossing them (I look both ways, and listen, even if the lights are green), they make me feel a bit nervous. I reckon that's because of all the safety films I saw at school!

Does anyone else remember the Ronald Dahl Railway book? I'll have to see if I can find it at my parents.

https://tygertale.com/2014/06/25/final-warning-roald-dahls-guide-to-railway-safety/

Yes! And that very picture!

Autistic person with a special interest in level crossings here! Network Rail are trying to phase them out but it isn't always straightforward. They have to provide an alternative, which might be redirecting people to another route, if there is one, or might be a bridge/subway. A bridge or subway requires encroachment in the surrounding land, planning permission etc. which is where problems arise.

Level crossings are scored on the All Level Crossing Risk Model and phasing out priority is given to those scoring the highest risk (based on type of level crossing, number of users etc.).

You might find this an interesting read:

https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/aocl-class-investigation

Some level crossings do have cctv. These can be monitored and remotely operated, but you know, it does take trains considerable distance to slow down, it's not an instant thing. CCTV on railways is also handy for identifying cable thieves and their vehicles.

In the work I have done for Network Rail (civil engineer) in the past, there is a move to phase out level crossings ie: with new routes, rerouting etc, but obviously there are hundreds, if not thousands, of level crossings that are in situ and constrained by other development around, as well as cost, and may just be the best solution for that location.

DM stalled on a level crossing when I was about 11, panicked and flooded the engine. It was a manned crossing and the signal man set the signals to red, came and pushed the car off the lines and made us a cup of tea in the signal box! I was a bit scared of level crossings for decades when I started driving, but working in Doncaster was the equivalent of overcoming aracnophobbia by sitting in a bath of spiders!

I live on a road with a level crossing. In the 32 years I've been here I've never heard of an incident involving it (with the exception of someone who sadly chose to take their own life). We also have 3 lots of public footpaths within 2 miles of here with steps across the railway line which have no barriers or warning lights. Never heard of anyone having an accident. It's not the crossings that are dangerous, it's idiots!