duncan

I wonder how much his insurance premiums increased through costing his insurers 1m ? I would have thought they would have pursued the lorry driver for their loss.

the car is escaping from the crossing, it could not have gone the other way into the crossing edit, I was also thinking of the car in post 855, but didn't know how to attach

Sorry Colin have to disagree. If I had brake failure I think I would try to swerve away from the crossing

I have a full bogie brake, but mine looks more LNWR, certainly when painted.

out of interest, how does wagon height vary between fully loaded & empty ? does worn suspension also affect height ?

Absolutely agree Phil, no defence for missing lights etc & not looking carefully. I have however had experience of trying to get work for people who have "won" an employment tribunal. Many employers unfortunately don't look beyond the termination of employment & the word "tribunal" when recruiting. They see tribunal & think troublemaker, see a tribunal financial settlement & see £ signs attached to employing that person, even if the previous employer broke the law. If the person manages to get to the interview stage life is often easier.

I would guess as a delivery driver he may have had a fitted mobile phone with earpiece, though how that could have covered the siren noise. Having done some delivery work, I know that most of the companies push van drivers to cover many deliveries / distances that I would be pushed to cover in a car, which is more agile & can legally travel faster. One route I drove for many weeks had the same timings no matter what size/type/weight of van (increased loading time) and therefor what the max permitted speed was on a single carriageway of 150 miles. Got many a bollocking for getting back late. If the company managers/directors were also prosecuted, then delivery drivers would be a lot better drivers, either by the companies employing a different type of person or the drivers knowing care was more important than speed & money.

Mick, I would suggest that as with any potential hazard (ie that you have advanced warning of) you change gear before the hazard, not in the middle of it (such as crossings, bends, hills, fords). To do otherwise is poor driving as the very least. Duncan

Surely 2 cases for appeal & a judge retired ?