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Level crossing stupidity...


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6 hours ago, Ian Smeeton said:

I'll just leave this here:

 

 

 

Regards

 

Ian

To be fair to the driver of that car, the Instructions on the sign by the wicket gate (intended for pedestrians, cyclists and horsemen) are different from the Instructions under the miniature stop lights.  I don't know what the notices on the far side of the line are of course. 

 

The railway and perhaps the law might think it's a public foot/bridle crossing adjacent to a private vehicular level crossing, but the layman sees it all as one level crossing.  The public just don't understand these crossings and it is very poor signage to have two sets of instructions with different wording.

 

Like so many crossings there are too many notices and the important one may not get read.  Does the notice about rozzers really contribute anything?  It 's not as bad as some others though - I don't see warnings about 25 kV and overheight  vehicles. 

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6 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

To be fair to the driver of that car, the Instructions on the sign by the wicket gate (intended for pedestrians, cyclists and horsemen) are different from the Instructions under the miniature stop lights.  I don't know what the notices on the far side of the line are of course. 

 

The railway and perhaps the law might think it's a public foot/bridle crossing adjacent to a private vehicular level crossing, but the layman sees it all as one level crossing.  The public just don't understand these crossings and it is very poor signage to have two sets of instructions with different wording.

 

Like so many crossings there are too many notices and the important one may not get read.  Does the notice about rozzers really contribute anything?  It 's not as bad as some others though - I don't see warnings about 25 kV and overheight  vehicles. 

Aren't you in any case supposed to open both gates before crossing? He was fortunate someone was there filming his idiocy!

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1 hour ago, 62613 said:

Aren't you in any case supposed to open both gates before crossing? He was fortunate someone was there filming his idiocy!

I thought that’s what it said on the sign…

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1 hour ago, 62613 said:

Aren't you in any case supposed to open both gates before crossing? He was fortunate someone was there filming his idiocy!

Yes, you are.  One of the signs does say that, although it really isn't that obvious.  The other Instructions notice doesn't tell you to touch the gates.  It tells you to cross only  when the green light shows and to cross quickly.  It can be argued that the quickest way to cross with a car is the way he did.  To open both gates first, you have to cross the tracks on foot twice and twice again afterwards to close them, which takes marginally longer.

 

Because these crossings are automatic and not protected by signals it is possible that a train will strike in and the light will change to red while you are opening the gates.  That's why it's important to check the light is still green when you get back to the car, though in this case he had just started moving onto the crossing when the light changed.   The public are used to gated crossings being protected by signals and don't understand how quickly a train can appear.

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14 hours ago, stewartingram said:

 

So that van driver didn't read  the very clear instructions that were on that sign?

 

There, I've corrected it for you!

The van driver may have been illiterate.

The van driver may have read the instructions & did'nt understand them.

The van driver may have ignored the instructions.

 

Who knows but certainly the van driver was either born stupid or took lessons on terminal stupdity.

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As an aside from the merits or otherwise of the signage, in the same situation I would have opened the gates on "my" side of the crossing to allow the van to cross quickly anyway - I've done this loads of times when out and about photographing.

 

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12 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

C'mon ....... would you have chosen to turn onto the railway to get away when the obvious route would be through the second gate - I reckon it WAS satnav.

 

I reckon he hoped that the police couldn't/wouldn't follow!

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On 16/07/2021 at 01:54, Michael Hodgson said:

Makes a change from the usual idiot turning onto the track because his satnav said so.

 Pre-sat nav [pre-everything, really]  I once observed a person [gender neutrale] turn left onto the railway tracks at Bridlington Quay Road crossing, to stop right outside the signal box.

In those days the sign pointing to the 'station' was quite close to the crossing, as was the station access road.

 

I was a bus driver for EYMS at the time...

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13 minutes ago, alastairq said:

 Pre-sat nav [pre-everything, really]  I once observed a person [gender neutrale] turn left onto the railway tracks at Bridlington Quay Road crossing, to stop right outside the signal box.

In those days the sign pointing to the 'station' was quite close to the crossing, as was the station access road.

 

I was a bus driver for EYMS at the time...

Perhaps he was a fireman observing Rule 55?

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On 16/07/2021 at 18:51, Michael Hodgson said:

  It can be argued that the quickest way to cross with a car is the way he did.  To open both gates first, you have to cross the tracks on foot twice and twice again afterwards to close them, which takes marginally longer.

 

 

No, the aim which isn't explicitly explained, is to get the vehicle across the level crossing in the shortest possible time, without stopping on the crossing.

 

So the correct procedure, is to check the green light, if on, open the nearest gate. Check light still green, if it is walk across to the other side and open 2nd gate.

 

Check for the green light on 2nd side. If it is on walk back across to the vehicle and get in, check for green light again, if it is drive across without stopping and stop clear of the gates.

 

Repeat the process of closing both gates, checking for green light at all stages before you cross on foot or driving.

 

If at any time, the light is red, clear the crossing, as quickly and calmly as possible.

 

All that is far to long, to put on a sign, but it's basically the procedure.

 

 

The whole process is much easier with 2 people. Much like a farm gate.

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16 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

No, the aim which isn't explicitly explained, is to get the vehicle across the level crossing in the shortest possible time, without stopping on the crossing.

 

So the correct procedure, is to check the green light, if on, open the nearest gate. Check light still green, if it is walk across to the other side and open 2nd gate.

 

Check for the green light on 2nd side. If it is on walk back across to the vehicle and get in, check for green light again, if it is drive across without stopping and stop clear of the gates.

 

Repeat the process of closing both gates, checking for green light at all stages before you cross on foot or driving.

 

If at any time, the light is red, clear the crossing, as quickly and calmly as possible.

 

All that is far to long, to put on a sign, but it's basically the procedure.

 

 

The whole process is much easier with 2 people. Much like a farm gate.

 

And how much simpler and safer would it be if the gate was set back a typical vehicle length from the track?

 

You could then get through and close the first gate, check for a green light on the opposite side, drive across, get through and close the second gate. No walking to and fro, no risk of stopping on the tracks.

 

Martin.

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3 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

 

And how much simpler and safer would it be if the gate was set back a typical vehicle length from the track?

 

You could then get through and close the first gate, check for a green light on the opposite side, drive across, get through and close the second gate. No walking to and fro, no risk of stopping on the tracks.

 

Martin.

Could you tell us what a vehicle length is, please? Are we talking about a motor bike or a 44T tri axle artic and trailer?

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1 minute ago, LMS2968 said:

Could you tell us what a vehicle length is, please? Are we talking about a motor bike or a 44T tri axle artic and trailer?

 

Sigh. I said "typical" vehicle length. Say anything with 4 wheels. Anyone driving a long vehicle would know that they can't fit between the gate and the track.

 

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7 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

 

Sigh. I said "typical" vehicle length. Say anything with 4 wheels. Anyone driving a long vehicle would know that they can't fit between the gate and the track.

 

 

Just like they know they can fit under that bridge

 

Ian

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Is part of the problem that there are several different arrangements depending on the status of the crossing, and many drivers may only come across them very occasionally?

And the driver might have assumed that once the gate had been opened it would keep the railway signals at red. We know that is not true but for someone not familiar with the way railways operate it might seem the obvious safety procedure to have in place.

What was not clear to me from the video was whether the first gate he came to was already open. I hope not but it is possible.

And who was videoing the whole thing anyway? It was not an official cctv as it was someone walking around.

Jonathan

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Introduce the 'fear' factor and the whole process speeds up considerably?

A sign telling a driver, ''We're not going to tell you if a train is coming!!'' might encourage a bit of wariness??

 

:)

 

 

Perhaps one of those talking apps might help? [Seeing as we're expected to download apps on our n0t very smart phone for just about everything these days, that matters?]

 

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2 hours ago, martin_wynne said:

 

And how much simpler and safer would it be if the gate was set back a typical vehicle length from the track?

 

You could then get through and close the first gate, check for a green light on the opposite side, drive across, get through and close the second gate. No walking to and fro, no risk of stopping on the tracks.

 

Martin.

Surely the idea is to avoid getting a vehicle (of any size) trapped between the gate and running line. 

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