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Level crossing incident Horsham 28/1/19

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Robsignals

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Errr no .....RED FLASHING LIGHTS.....ummm STOP :) if you were approaching a crossing, with booms up but lights flashing, you'd go on and not stop ? If you were at the crossing, and only one went up, you would obviously know there was a problem :)

Difference with traffic lights is most drivers understand that when they get red others get green and when they have green their safety depends on others obeying red and they appreciate that the lights are for their benefit. Level crossings are seen as "us and them" and believe they are closed for far longer than is really needed due to the incompetence, laziness or sheer bloody mindedness of 'the railway'. At full barriers they correctly assume that a train won't arrive until well after the barriers are down so don't fully respect the flashing reds but that can prove fatal at half barrier or open crossings.

When a signaller gets an alarm or report of a faulty AHB they caution trains to drive on sight because it's expected that cars will weave round, legal or not.
 
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Deafdoggie

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Errr no .....RED FLASHING LIGHTS.....ummm STOP :) if you were approaching a crossing, with booms up but lights flashing, you'd go on and not stop ? If you were at the crossing, and only one went up, you would obviously know there was a problem :)

But in this case, it was the front driver who saw barrier go up & drove onto crossing. Their attention being taken off the red light by the barrier raising.

If they were approaching the crossing their view is different, and the lights more prominent. But having sat at the crossing, watch a train pass, then seen a barrier raise, you’ve had indications to proceed and checking the lights isn’t the priority anymore & natural instinct takes over.

Railways have this problem too, and although steps are taken to reduce risks, it’s the fact the equipment isn’t doing what it should that is the problem here.
 

Esker-pades

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Errr no .....RED FLASHING LIGHTS.....ummm STOP :) if you were approaching a crossing, with booms up but lights flashing, you'd go on and not stop ? If you were at the crossing, and only one went up, you would obviously know there was a problem :)
I WOULD still be :) confused.

I have not at any point said that I would not stop. Just that I would be confused.

I have not said at any point I would not call the signaller saying that something was wrong. Just that I would be confused.
 

SussexMan

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Once a driver has stopped and is first in the queue, invariably, their cue to start moving, once a train has passed, are the barriers rising (and probably the closest barriers). The lights are often at quite an acute angle and the nearside ones will probably be obscured by their own car.
 

tsr

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Would this be somewhere in mostly SWR land with regular GWR and occasional visitors, where they moved the fire station one building up the road a few years ago?
Seen those in use once, fire engine was a fair way up the road, doors closing, road lights still on.
Compliance there was good when the engine was driving out, then very poor once the engine had gone away.

No, it wouldn’t be, but that just goes to show that various different areas have that problem!
 

Bikeman78

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Once a driver has stopped and is first in the queue, invariably, their cue to start moving, once a train has passed, are the barriers rising (and probably the closest barriers). The lights are often at quite an acute angle and the nearside ones will probably be obscured by their own car.
Pedestrians sometimes loiter in the middle of the road and start walking as soon as the barriers have raised enough for them to squeeze under. They did the same with the old style wooden gates at Littlehaven, especially if a train load of passengers had just off off a down train. Granted these are full barrier crossings but it proves that people use the barriers rather than the lights as the visual cue that it's now safe to cross.
 

Llanigraham

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But in this case, it was the front driver who saw barrier go up & drove onto crossing. Their attention being taken off the red light by the barrier raising.

If they were approaching the crossing their view is different, and the lights more prominent. But having sat at the crossing, watch a train pass, then seen a barrier raise, you’ve had indications to proceed and checking the lights isn’t the priority anymore & natural instinct takes over.

Railways have this problem too, and although steps are taken to reduce risks, it’s the fact the equipment isn’t doing what it should that is the problem here.

Then I suggest they should be paying more attention!
I would also suggest that if they are that inattentive they should consider going on a Driver Assessment Course, often run by the Council Road Safety Dept.
 

Deafdoggie

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Then I suggest they should be paying more attention!
I would also suggest that if they are that inattentive they should consider going on a Driver Assessment Course, often run by the Council Road Safety Dept.

I think it is a very easy mistake to make. I am human, I make mistakes too. I refer you to my comment about "Ding Ding & away" above, it isn't just a car driver issue, history is full of train SPADs caused by the same issue. It is a human trait. Of course, things can be done to minimise the risk, but you can't stop human nature.
 

Mathew S

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There are red flashing light controls outside numerous Fire and Ambulance stations, and these don't have barriers; do these cause confusion to drivers?
Yes. Massively. You only had to drive past the old ambulance station in Wigan to see that most drivers hadn't the first idea what to do when these lights flashed.
 
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