Re: [NSW] Five (in a car) thought dead after train crash

[Bill Bolton <billbolton@computer.org>]

usenet.spam@gunzel.net (Michael) wrote:

> The likelyhood of someone driving through a set of booms and into a train 
> would most likely be significantly reduced compared to that of driving 
> through a set of red lights and into a train.

They don't drive through the boom gates, they drive AROUND them.

> I don't have any figures here

That's all too obvious.

> but it would be safe to assume that people speed through the red 
> lights "because they can", with minimal effort. The installation of boom 
> gates at least lessens the chance that someone will go through, since they 
> need to physically weave around the booms. 

Which they do.

> Just to back that up, I rarely see people drive around booms

Probably because in Australia boom gates are usually only installed in
built up areas where there are likely to be a lot of people
watching.... if the chance of observation is low, such as with boom
gates in remote locations, the evidence from both Europe and the US is
that people often try to drive around them given the opportunity.

> Considering 90% of the level crossings I get to see are boom gates, that 
> has to amount to something. 

It amounts to seeing level crossing in built up areas.

> Perhaps we need to investigate some other sort of level crossing 
> protection? In other forums I've seen ideas discussed such as spikes in the 
> road that rise when the level crossing has started.

So if anyone goes through them they end up stuck on the tracks....
very smart.

> Even if you can make it hard for people to weave around the booms
> by putting a division in the road or installing a second set of
> booms on the "wrong side", it would be a considerable improvement.

Lengthy median dividers near crossings seem to be about the only road
related things which work.  Departure side gates can trap vehicles on
crossings.

> Re the cost of the continual replacement of the beams, fine the drivers who 
> drive through them

If they have driven though them at remote location, they have most
likely driven off (if they haven't been collected by a train).  Unless
you add cameras to the equation fining is unlikely to recover the cost
of anything other than small number of gate damage.

Cheers,

Bill


Bill Bolton
Sydney, Australia