2 trains in Kent forced to make emergency stop due to cyclists ignoring safety lights at crossings

[Lucan]

I'd make all barriers equally strong and offset them far away to have a protected waiting area for people who do get themselves stranded.

I cannot imagine there are any railway crossings where there is not already enough room to stand inside the gate and still be clear of the train.

 

[najaB]

I cannot imagine there are any railway crossings where there is not already enough room to stand inside the gate and still be clear of the train.

Same, though there are a couple I can think of where it you'd probably want to suck in the gut a bit, just to be sure.

Having said that, this is from casual observation out the train window - the space might not be as tight as it appears.

 

[zwk500]

I suspect there are many where to put an inner fence while leaving space for a wheelchair or pram to wait and maintaining a safe distance from a 75mph freight would be tight, to say the least.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Running red lights in general isn’t just a cyclist thing, one thing earlier lockdowns illustrated is that there’s a shocking number of motorists who won’t stop at red road lights, let alone level crossings, unless they’re being physically obstructed, either by crossing traffic or someone stopping in front of them, and then there’s those that’ll go around them regardless.

I've seen people drive across at the Manor Road crossing near Richmond almost as the barriers come down. The temptation must be considerable, as one can be held there for 10 minutes or more in the rush-hour, for three or four trains. One problem with Manor Road is that it gets clogged with traffic. When I approach the crossing in heavy traffic, I always hold back and make sure that there is a good motor's length free on the other side before going onto it, as I do not intend to get stuck on the crossing when the siren goes off and the lights flash. I once got honked from behind, even though the motor in front was only just clear of the far side of the crossing.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I've seen people drive across at the Manor Road crossing near Richmond almost as the barriers come down. The temptation must be considerable, as one can be held there for 10 minutes or more in the rush-hour, for three or four trains. One problem with Manor Road is that it gets clogged with traffic. When I approach the crossing in heavy traffic, I always hold back and make sure that there is a good motor's length free on the other side before going onto it, as I do not intend to get stuck on the crossing when the siren goes off and the lights flash. I once got honked from behind, even though the motor in front was only just clear of the far side of the crossing.

Isn't the crossing "yellow boxed"?

 

[norbitonflyer]

Isn't the crossing "yellow boxed"?

Surprisingly, no.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Isn't the crossing "yellow boxed"?

Oddly enough, considering that it's in my patch, I've not noticed whether it has a yellow box or not. I've just looked at Google Streetview, and it's not got a box; I'll have a look when I'm next there. The crossings at Sheen Lane, Grove Park Terrace, Wood Lane and Strawberry Hill station don't have a box, but the ones at White Hart Lane and Vine Lane do have them: I wonder what the criteria are for having a box on a crossing?

It would make sense to have a yellow box on a crossing, but considering what a lot of motorists are like in respect of them at road junctions, I don't think that having one at the Manor Road crossing would make much difference to some drivers' behaviour.

 

[Spartacus]

The Highway Code's quite clear on level crossings; "Never drive onto a crossing until the road is clear on the other side and do not get too close to the car in front. Never stop or park on, or near, a crossing.", so in theory a yellow box is quite superfluous, as possibly counterproductive as box junctions do have an exception, "However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.", maybe a 'yellow box' level crossing very close to a junction could raise issues there, and as is said, given yellow boxes get little respect at road junctions anyway I doubt it'd make much difference, if any.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Yellow box and enforcement cameras should sharpen the mind of motorists....

Anyway, we're drifting off the original topic here and I think this thread has run its course - do mods agree?

 

[matt_world2004]

Do emergency stops cause the risk of injury or discomfort to passengers or damage to cargo on board the train significantly above that of other stops

The Highway Code's quite clear on level crossings; "Never drive onto a crossing until the road is clear on the other side and do not get too close to the car in front. Never stop or park on, or near, a crossing.", so in theory a yellow box is quite superfluous, as possibly counterproductive as box junctions do have an exception, "However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.", maybe a 'yellow box' level crossing very close to a junction could raise issues there, and as is said, given yellow boxes get little respect at road junctions anyway I doubt it'd make much difference, if any.

Impossible to turn right on a level crossing one would have thought.

 

[Spartacus]

Do emergency stops cause the risk of injury or discomfort to passengers or damage to cargo on board the train significantly above that of other stops


Impossible to turn right on a level crossing one would have thought.

Quite a few have managed it down the tracks, but it could be interpreted as being permitted to form a queue of traffic turning right after the crossing, with the queue extending onto the crossing.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Impossible to turn right on a level crossing one would have thought.

I'm not so sure...



Of course, the driver may have turned left...

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

There is a lot to be said for closing many crossings to motors, and building bridges with easy ramps for people and cyclists. Makes sense if it saves a single life.

 

[Taunton]

There is a lot to be said for closing many crossings to motors, and building bridges with easy ramps for people and cyclists. Makes sense if it saves a single life.

Apart from the fact that Network Rail prices for building any bridge are so stratospheric that to do all level crossings would consume the entire UK GNP for the next century, all the "easy ones" have been done, and we are left with ones like the whole sequence around Richmond, where houses, in a place where even a mid-terrace goes for not far off £1m each, are right up to all four corners of the crossing. And in case you think this is recent development, these are Victorian houses

 

[24Grange]

Could they not just close the road then ( rather than building a solid gold bridge or ramp) ? I can think of a few former level crossings that now have " dead end" roads on them both sides - the government don't want us in our cars anyway, the bus and cyclists can be rerouted. Much safer.

 

[najaB]

Could they not just close the road then ( rather than building a solid gold bridge or ramp) ?

That's exactly what has been done where it was easy to do so, but when it's the only/main road providing access to an area then it's not feasible to pursue a stopping up order.

 

[Gloster]

I'm not so sure...

View attachment 93296

Of course, the driver may have turned left...

No, she turned left as she was coming from the Lymington direction.