Fatal accident at Alice Holt footpath crossing, 5 Oct 2016

[Adlington]

RAIB published a report on this incident. The summary:

At 16:20 hours on Wednesday 5 October 2016 a mobility scooter was struck by a train, and the scooter user fatally injured, at Alice Holt footpath crossing, Bentley, Hampshire.

Users of Alice Holt footpath crossing are required to look and listen for approaching trains before deciding whether it is safe to cross the line. It is uncertain why the user decided to cross when it was unsafe to do so, as CCTV images suggest that he had previously crossed in a safe manner. It is probable that the user did not see the train or misjudged when it would arrive at the crossing, perhaps due to sun glare, when deciding to cross. The mobility scooter user’s opportunity to see the approaching train was limited by the design of Alice Holt crossing, in particular the fencing. The mobility scooter user did not react to the train’s horn, possibly because he did not hear it.

The RAIB has found that Network Rail’s guidance for level crossing managers did not include any advice concerning use by mobility scooter users and the management of the crossing had not allowed for vulnerable users such as these.

A sightly unusual (IMHO) minor point in the report is that the name of the victim is published. AFAIR all previous reports have always been "anonymous".

 

[daikilo]

RAIB published a report on this incident. The summary:
A sightly unusual (IMHO) minor point in the report is that the name of the victim is published. AFAIR all previous reports have always been "anonymous".

The way the name is included suggests to me that it is "with agreement" . I doubt it was an oversight and nowhere is any "blame" put on the person.

As to what happened and possibly contributing factors, it dismays me.

 

[Adlington]

The way the name is included suggests to me that it is "with agreement" . I doubt it was an oversight and nowhere is any "blame" put on the person.

I agree with that. What I fail to see is the relevance of the victim's name to the incident.

 

[4069]

RAIB published a report on this incident. The summary:
A sightly unusual (IMHO) minor point in the report is that the name of the victim is published. AFAIR all previous reports have always been "anonymous".

In the case of fatal accidents, the name of the deceased is usually given by RAIB, subject to the wishes of the family.

The report is a permanent document, which may be referred to in the future by people researching for all sorts of reasons. Giving the name goes some way to ensuring that the person will be remembered as an individual, rather than just an anonymous victim.

 

[Adlington]

In the case of fatal accidents, the name of the deceased is usually given by RAIB, subject to the wishes of the family.

Can you quote any specific cases?

 

[plannerman]

The same applies to MAIB reports, if it's a fatality then the victim is usually referred to by name. I think it's for ease of reference too, in an anonymous report where everyone else is referred to by job titles then it remains easy to see which person died.

 

[daikilo]

What I fail to see is the relevance of the victim's name to the incident.

Per se, none whatsoever, just respect for a fellow human so that he is not just a statistic.

 

[AndyPJG]

In the case of fatal accidents, the name of the deceased is usually given by RAIB, subject to the wishes of the family.

The report is a permanent document, which may be referred to in the future by people researching for all sorts of reasons. Giving the name goes some way to ensuring that the person will be remembered as an individual, rather than just an anonymous victim.

Names in RAIB reports are very exceptional, indeed I can only recollect a couple of instances since the RAIB's creation (2005?).

 

[infobleep]

Until I started reading the report I wasn't aware that millages and distances on some lines were still calculated partly using routes that no longer exist. In this case Tongham.

Hopefully some good will come out of this.

 

[AlterEgo]

Names in RAIB reports are very exceptional, indeed I can only recollect a couple of instances since the RAIB's creation (2005?).

I agree - I read a lot of RAIB reports and can't recall a specific example. I am sure you could count the numbers on one hand.

 

[4069]

I agree - I read a lot of RAIB reports and can't recall a specific example. I am sure you could count the numbers on one hand.

You are almost right, but that is mainly because (thankfully) there are not many fatal accidents for RAIB to investigate.

Of reports published since the beginning of 2015, six have involved fatalities. Of those, the name of the deceased was included in the report in three cases (Newark, Grimston Lane and Alice Holt), and withheld in the other three (Woodbourn Road, David Lane and Balham). The proportion in previous years is about the same.