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Level crossing stupidity...


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This is quite old, so has probably been linked here beofre, but I've only just been sent the link.

 

What's of note is that both barriers come down at the same time, and there seems to be only about 9 seconds between barrier and train.

 

Not really the drivers fault on the face of it.

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Damo666 said:

This is quite old, so has probably been linked here beofre, but I've only just been sent the link.

 

What's of note is that both barriers come down at the same time, and there seems to be only about 9 seconds between barrier and train.

 

Not really the drivers fault on the face of it.

 

 

Indeed it was the drivers fault. He was prosecuted and jailed, he was drunk at the time. Two people on the train were killed including the train driver.

Edited by PhilJ W
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2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Indeed it was the drivers fault. He was prosecuted and jailed, he was drunk at the time. Two people on the train were killed including the train driver.

Thanks Phil, I didn't know that.

 

I'd be interested to read more about the reason why he was prosecuted, as from the limited video, it seemed that he had little time to react. (but I don't want to re-open an old discussion if this has been debated ad-nauseam here in the past).

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He went on to the crossing against the warning lights but stopped on the crossing when the barriers came down. In his drink befuddled state he thought he was stopped off of the crossing at the first barrier. In the collision the lorry cab was ripped off of the chassis but despite that being so drunk he was uninjured.

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35 minutes ago, Kris said:

Oh dear, who would reverse over a level crossing?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-58848062


Looking at street view there is a narrow bridge with a 5 ton weight limit 100 yards past the crossing and nowhere to turn around…

 

the other side is a T junction with the level crossing to the right and a 7.5 tonne “except for access” limit 300 yards to the left…

 

edit: the T-junction looks to be leaving an industrial site so a bit of a red herring…

Edited by Jonboy
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16 minutes ago, Jonboy said:


Looking at street view there is a narrow bridge with a 5 ton weight limit 100 yards past the crossing and nowhere to turn around…

 

the other side is a T junction with the level crossing to the right and a 7.5 tonne “except for access” limit 300 yards to the left…

 

edit: the T-junction looks to be leaving an industrial site so a bit of a red herring…

If they had come out of the T junction there is a sign saying no right turns for HGV's and if they had not come out of there he has passed a sign saying about the height and weight limit ahead and to turn round now. 

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3 minutes ago, big jim said:

The crossing is a CCTV monitored one, surely the signaller would have seen the wagon on the screen before lowering the barriers? 


Hi,

 

Depends if it’s Auto-Lower or not, if it is the CCTV will come on at the same time as the sequence starts (if I remember the X Modules correctly!), and the signaller may not look at the screen until the crossing clear is required (because they didn’t need to initiate the sequence). However, Auto lower is not all that favoured at the moment.

 

If it is manual lower, then the signaller would be looking at the monitor when they lower the barriers.

 

I can’t tell from the video, but there seems to be quite a time between the lorry starting to reverse before the barriers come down, it is possible the lights didn’t start until after the lorry started reversing?

 

Simon

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Looks to me as if it's an AHB, possibly with the CCTV there for another purpose other than control of the crossing (e.g. to record crossing abuse).

 

The lorry driver might well have 'got away with it' if he had stayed in lane, rather than straddling the white line.

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Quote

 

If that CCTV crossing has Auto-Lower there is no requirement for the Signaller to observe the lowering sequence unless they are being lowered manually. The Signaller is only required to ensure the crossing is clear after the barriers have lowered. The Crossing Clear button is then pressed, the protecting signal can be cleared and the CCTV picture goes out,

 

 There is an emergency stop button for use if  the Signaller does see a situation requiring the lowering sequence to be stopped.

Edited by LeeWL
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16 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

The lorry driver might well have 'got away with it' if he had stayed in lane, rather than straddling the white line.

To reverse a trailer you need a bit of wiggle room; they don't take much to start going out of line in reverse. He was dead unlucky with his timing, but apparently should've paid more attention to road signs.

That's the trouble with truck driving - one moment's inattention and your day - and a lot of other people's days - goes seriously wrong. All for a flat hourly rate hardly above minimum wage - and people wonder why no one wants to do the job..... :fool:

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On 06/10/2021 at 21:13, PhilJ W said:

Indeed it was the drivers fault. He was prosecuted and jailed, he was drunk at the time. Two people on the train were killed including the train driver.

The driver should have been jailed for life (I say that as an HGV driver).

 

There is an argument to increase the "barriers down to train arrival time. Of course you could then argue that increasing the waiting time could encorage impatient drivers to "take a chance".

 

If (God forbid) I dropped a real clanger & ended up in that position I would take the barrier out - far better than the chance of killing someone. Rather be in a tanker full of effulent than an oceans worth.

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4 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

Looking at the images, the load appears to be several of those lighting towers with integral generator that are often to be found at worksites. Is it possible the driver was delivering these to a nearby possession?

Highly unlikely as it was a passenger train so it would have been unlikely the line under possession.

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43 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Highly unlikely as it was a passenger train so it would have been unlikely the line under possession.


I think fat controller means taking the towers to a compound ready for or after a possession, as it happens I was down there last weekend on a possession so I had the same thought too when I saw the load on the wagon 

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5 hours ago, SamThomas said:

The driver should have been jailed for life (I say that as an HGV driver).

 

There is an argument to increase the "barriers down to train arrival time. Of course you could then argue that increasing the waiting time could encorage impatient drivers to "take a chance".

 

If (God forbid) I dropped a real clanger & ended up in that position I would take the barrier out - far better than the chance of killing someone. Rather be in a tanker full of effulent than an oceans worth.

 

5 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

Looking at the images, the load appears to be several of those lighting towers with integral generator that are often to be found at worksites. Is it possible the driver was delivering these to a nearby possession?

 

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Highly unlikely as it was a passenger train so it would have been unlikely the line under possession.

Sorry I got confused, I thought you were talking about the one in Poland. 

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The article was clearly written by someone whose English was not their first language...

 

Tragic, but it does show YOU HAVE to treat all level crossings with respect.

I travel to a lot of countries, and I (can) never know the rules for level crossings - so I always make sure I super look, make sure the exit is clear, then proceed whilst being totally focused, and never linger. I even consider the clown behind me!

 

 

Kev.

 

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The article was clearly translated by some computer program whose first language was not English.

 

Never mind the rules for level crossings - the rules for staying alive are that you should assume every railway is active unless there is very good evidence that it's not ........... there's no point trying to guess why this had slipped the unfortunate gentleman's mind.

Edited by Wickham Green too
reinstatement of first word(s) - with something acceptable
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