Justin Smith
Member
Not sure if your post is ironic, which tells one all one needs to know about this subject.....Perhaps the trains could slow just a bit, sacrificing a couple of valuable minutes.
It is not necessary for trains to slow because crossings are safe enough as they are. I say safe enough because nothing is safe, as in 100% safe, a few Billion people on this earth should bear that in mind when discussing Covid......
My son and I sometimes go and see the trains at Scrooby accommodation* crossing, an electrified line with, I believe, a 125mph limit. I feel safer crossing that railway than I do crossing Penistone Rd in Sheffield, despite the fact that road has a 30mph limit (in theory).
TBH I still cannot quite understand how anyone could get hit when crossing a railway. I am not being facetious, we have a train which must follow a predetermined path and everyone knows where it will go, it cannot go anywhere else, one only has to move 6ft either way which would take a second or two, and it will miss you. And trains are big and very loud, even electrified trains.
* Actually I am not sure if it is an occupation or accommodation crossing !
Depending on what they class as an "incident".Perhaps if they published the incident log the public would understand. I don't recall any incidents serious enough to appear in the media.
One of the features of Scotland's right to roam is that the public are responsible for their own safety, not the landowner. The same should apply to users of the crossing, and I'm sure that those who have been using it accept that.
Is someone on the railway side of the gate, but not actually on the line, an incident ? If so those incident stats are meaningless. To me an incident on a level crossing would be a train missing a person by, say, 10 seconds. Though most people will cross a road if "only" missing a car by 10 seconds (maybe even 5 seconds) and not think that dangerous. And that is a vehicle which can change direction, a train cannot, which, actually makes it safer.
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