I can tell I've hit a nerve here. Many posters have implied that without Guards/Conductors, we're just a small step away from disaster every time we get onto a train. It that was the case, why is DOO allowed anywhere?
I'm as entitled to put my opinion as any other poster and I contend that the "Safety Critical" aspect is in fact the Emperor's new clothes. Everyone can see logically that DOO trains are no less safe than those with a Guard. Statistically speaking you're no more likely to be involved in a train accident as a passenger on a DOO train than one that carries a Guard. The Ladbroke Grove train had a Guard, as did the Ufton Nervet train, as did the ones at Potter's Bar, Purley and Hatfield. When the two DEMUs collided on the Oxted Branch, I understand the Guard was in the driving cab of one of the units, probably distracting the driver and contributing to the crash. It's just that those with a vested interest can't admit that the days of the train Guard are coming to an end.
I'm sure the lamplighters made a very strong safety case that replacing gas street lights with electric ones would render the streets strewn with the dead and maimed.