Boy, 6, left behind at Edinburgh tram stop

[ScotrailINV]

Hi all,

Just come across this on the BBC News website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-32300388

An investigation has been launched after a six-year-old boy was left on a platform when his mother boarded a tram in Edinburgh.

Simone Brown, 26, got on the tram at Hermiston Gait on Monday but the doors closed behind her, leaving her son, Jayden, locked out.
Ms Brown told the driver to stop but it is understood he decided to drive to the next stop at Bankhead.

An Edinburgh Tram spokesman said they kept a watch on the boy using CCTV.

'Lungs exploding'

He said: "Further to this, a female passenger at the tram stop was contacted by our control team via the intercom system and she agreed to stay with the boy until he was reunited with his mum."

Ms Brown, who also had her eight-week-old son with her, told the BBC Scotland news website: "What good is a CCTV camera as my son could have walked off and it was just luck that the woman on the platform was genuine.
"It makes me very angry and upset to think tram officials think it was totally acceptable for him to be left with a stranger.

"They also didn't tell me he was with anyone so I was panicking the whole time thinking he might get on the next tram."

She added: "When I got off at the next stop no official helped me and they let me run back to the last stop and I'm not very fit after having had a baby eight weeks ago.

"It felt like a lifetime to get back to him and my lungs were going to explode.

"They told me it wasn't enough of an emergency to stop the tram, which has left me very angry and upset and I've now made a complaint in writing."

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Trams said: "We understand that this was a very upsetting experience and we're looking into the circumstances."

The spokeswoman added that there is an emergency stop button at every tram door. However, Ms Brown said she failed to see it in her panic.

Couple of questions have arisen from this:

1) Are Edinburgh Trams on potentially shaky ground for contacting the unrelated woman on the platform and asking her to keep an eye on the child? I personally don't see issue with it, but in this day and age, the fact they're advertising the child being a lone etc...

2) If this happened on the 'big railway', what would the procedure be? Say mother and child are at an unmanned station and the guard/driver doesn't notice the child left behind before the mother does and the mother alerts staff/pulls a passcom as the trains departing, does the train continue on to the next station or stop and set back etc?

Obliged as always!

 

[ADRboy]

Surely this story is 'Mum leaves son behind' rather than Edinburgh Trams fault.

Reckon the driver should've stopped though (if he's allowed to outside a stop).

 

[Via Bank]

It depends if it was a street running section or not, I suppose. What would be the point of letting the mother off between stops to walk across ballast to reach her child? (As to whether he could have simply reversed, no idea on that either.)

Far more worrying is that the safety of the child was put in the hands of an apparent stranger (thankfully she turned out to be genuine, but what if it hadn't?) Surely it would have made sense to address the child directly on the intercom? Maybe the driver of the next tram could've made sure he was picked up and then reunited? Does each tram have a ticket inspector or do they work in "roving band" mode?

It does show perhaps that there needs to be a process for dealing with this. Compare this to what happens if a party becomes separated on LU (very clear communication between stations and drivers if someone asks for assistance.)

 

[reb0118]

In 17 years I've had a few separating family episodes.

 

[ScotrailINV]

Surely this story is 'Mum leaves son behind' rather than Edinburgh Trams fault.

Reckon the driver should've stopped though (if he's allowed to outside a stop).

That's my thoughts exactly! I was just wondering what the correct procedures (if any) are in this situation, especially if it happened on the main line.

 

[Nym]

Surely this story is 'Mum leaves son behind' rather than Edinburgh Trams fault.

Reckon the driver should've stopped though (if he's allowed to outside a stop).

"Negligent mother boards Edinburgh tram while doors are closing, leaving her young son on the platform"

A mother of two, with a new baby neglected to pay attention to the door closing warning chimes today on a tram in Edinburgh.

The 26 year old rushed to the tram, in spite of the door close alarms sounding, pushing her new baby's pram, with the child in it, into the doors of the tram, activating the obstacle detection and allowing her to board, unfortunately her elder son did not see a 12 minute delay as a reason to risk injury and due to a sense of self preservation, or perhaps a healthy respect and fear of doors. He did not board.

The mother is not expected to be any more careful next time.

Is this more along the lines of what should be written?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I could have put money on the majority of RUK members baying for the mother's blood.

 

[overthewater]

Hermiston Gait is off street, so the tram should have stopped.

 

[Domh245]

She may well have gone through the doors whilst the door close chimes were going off, but surely the driver will have watched the doors closing through the bodyside camera, and noticed the mother dive on leaving a 6 year old on the platform. Even if he didn't see the incident, seeing a small boy by himself on the platform would surely make the driver think twice before moving off.

 

[yorkie]

I could have put money on the majority of RUK members baying for the mother's blood.

Two out of 3,684 active members, or if you want to restrict it to members who logged on today, 1,545. Hmm!

Nevertheless, the possibility of the mother being at least partly at fault cannot be ruled out, based on the limited information available.

 

[Searle]

Surely this story is 'Mum leaves son behind' rather than Edinburgh Trams fault.

Reckon the driver should've stopped though (if he's allowed to outside a stop).

"Negligent mother boards Edinburgh tram while doors are closing, leaving her young son on the platform"

A mother of two, with a new baby neglected to pay attention to the door closing warning chimes today on a tram in Edinburgh.

The 26 year old rushed to the tram, in spite of the door close alarms sounding, pushing her new baby's pram, with the child in it, into the doors of the tram, activating the obstacle detection and allowing her to board, unfortunately her elder son did not see a 12 minute delay as a reason to risk injury and due to a sense of self preservation, or perhaps a healthy respect and fear of doors. He did not board.

The mother is not expected to be any more careful next time.

Is this more along the lines of what should be written?

Unless you know that all of that happened, then no

 

[Starmill]

I struggle to imagine any circumstances in which one might 'accidentally' board a train or tram and leave your child behind that couldn't be called negligent. There might be, I suppose but... how? Also, how could it really be the operator's fault? I've no idea if they dealt with it effectively or appropriately, but I can't see, even though we don't really know what happened, how it could have been their fault.

 

[34D]

I'd be interested to know whether police were on there way too?

Asking another female to keep an eye on the child (with cctv too) seems sensible to me (as a parent)

 

[Starmill]

I remember when I was five, my mum told me thay if I ever got lost in public and couldn't find anyone 'official' to help (like a police officer, or security in a shopping centre) the best type of person to look for was another woman who had children.

 

[snail]

I struggle to imagine any circumstances in which one might 'accidentally' board a train or tram and leave your child behind that couldn't be called negligent.

Then I presume you have never tried getting on a train (or tram) or into a lift with a small child.

 

[Clip]

I struggle to imagine any circumstances in which one might 'accidentally' board a train or tram and leave your child behind that couldn't be called negligent. There might be, I suppose but... how? Also, how could it really be the operator's fault? I've no idea if they dealt with it effectively or appropriately, but I can't see, even though we don't really know what happened, how it could have been their fault.

You would be surprised at how often this does happen on the railway - not just the tram. Me missus comes home and tells me when it happens on the DLR yet that doesn't seem to make the news.

 

[reb0118]

.....when it happens on the DLR [..] that doesn't seem to make the news.

Quite, I'm not sure but there may still be a lingering anti tram bias at the Edinburgh Evening News.

 

[Antman]

Then I presume you have never tried getting on a train (or tram) or into a lift with a small child.

Indeed these things are easily done and I have seen similar incidents on the London Underground

 

[Tetchytyke]

I struggle to imagine any circumstances in which one might 'accidentally' board a train or tram and leave your child behind that couldn't be called negligent.

Quite easily and quite simply, if the door chime starts with you on the tram and your child on the platform. You can't lift a buggy and a six-year-old on at the same time and whichever way you do it there is a risk- you could put the kid on first and then watch the tram drive off without you.

Whether the tram driver is negligent or not I don't know, but aren't they supposed to check everyone is clear before they close the doors? It's a bit harder for them to do that on the tube/DLR.

 

[reb0118]

Anecdotal: From reading the comments posted on the Evening News website I see that one poster has identified the mother in question as the passenger who on an earlier occasion refused to fold her pram when occupying the wheelchair space on a bus and the said space was later required for a wheelchair passenger.

I'll do a bit more digging.

Well is doesn't seem to be the case if this is the story in question.

 

[Clip]

Quite, I'm not sure but there may still be a lingering anti tram bias at the Edinburgh Evening News.

Eeehhhh never

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Then I presume you have never tried getting on a train (or tram) or into a lift with a small child.

Or, as in this incident, with two small children. Where possibly, just possibly, one of the children did not share the parent's commitment to be at the destination that day, and where possibly, other travellers were so interested in their own needs and interests, that they made it more difficult for the parent than need have been.

Quite, I'm not sure but there may still be a lingering anti tram bias at the Edinburgh Evening News.

Lingering? I'd say entrenched!

 

[Starmill]

Then I presume you have never tried getting on a train (or tram) or into a lift with a small child.

You'd presume correctly. But in which case that's about trying to be as responsible as possible, rather than simply blaming it entirely on the tram operators, who don't appear to have had a hand in it...

 

[BestWestern]

Anecdotal: From reading the comments posted on the Evening News website I see that one poster has identified the mother in question as the passenger who on an earlier occasion refused to fold her pram when occupying the wheelchair space on a bus and the said space was later required for a wheelchair passenger.

I'll do a bit more digging.

Well is doesn't seem to be the case if this is the story in question.

Oh dear :-/

That one's a complete non-story, essentially 'bus driver enforces company policy'. The lady states "he was just being a complete jobsworth..." - oh how people do love to interpret any enforcement of rules as utterly outrageous when it isn't in their favour.

Particularly amusing is the first of the dreaded 'comments' - "So, what do they do when someone wants to get on with a wheelchair? Forbid them from using the space in case somebody else with a wheelchair wants to use it?".

Again, oh dear...