Interesting Occurance

["John Regan" <reganjd@clear.net.nz>]

Today on the way back home driving a passenger train I had a near-collision
with a truck carrying pigs.  It crossed infront of my train without
stopping or even slowing, at a controlled crossing fitted with lights and
bells on State Highway 1 about 75 kilometres north of Christchurch.  The
crossing is on a straight stretch of road with good alround visibility.

Unfortunately for the driver of this truck there was a Police Officer on
the southern side of the crossing stopped with another motorist whom he was
busy giving a ticket.  He witnessed the whole thing and took off after the
truck.

Train Control informed me later that the truck had been stopped and the
driver dealt with.

I spoke to the officer on the phone who told me that the truck driver had
been so engrossed in watching the cop with the motorist that he failed to
see the flashing lights and hear the locomotive horn! (I had started
hanging off the whistle when the truck was some 200 metres from the
crossing until after I cleared the crossing and it was a very good horn the
loco had).
Apparently the truckie said that by the time he discovered there was a
train bearing down on him he did not want to brake for fear of injuring the
pigs so he kept on going and only just made it across the crossing by a bit
less than 50 metres.  I was going 85 kmh at the time and he was going up
hill.

It is not very often that a cop witnesses such an act of stupidity but it
all fell into place today.  It will be interesting to see what the out come
will be.

Cheers

John Regan
Locomotive Engineer
Christchurch
NEW ZEALAND
reganjd@clear.net.nz