Hundreds of near misses with trains as complacency around tracks continues
Monday, 10 August 2020
A train driver experiences a near miss in New Zealand every day, KiwiRail says.
And so far this year, about 40 people have nearly been hit by trains in the Auckland region.
In a video shared for Rail Safety Week, KiwiRail has shown CCTV footage of a number of near misses as people walk across train tracks, not realising a train is coming.
To name a few, the video shows young children running across the tracks, a woman with a pram, and a child on a scooter, all narrowly missing being hit by a passing train.
**READ MORE:
* Seven near misses on level crossings in Taranaki in past year
* More near misses for pedestrians wearing headphones at rail crossings
* Dangers of crossing tracks prompt safety warning
* KiwiRail releases footage of four near-misses at crossings
**
In the video, locomotive engineer Jeremy speaks of his experience with people running across the tracks.
He said it’s the closest feeling to “total helplessness”.
“Just think when you run in front of a train, there’s someone in there who has to deal with that and try to deal with the effects of it,” Jeremy said.
“It’s a real sort of heart-in-your-mouth scenario. It’s someone making a split decision and not really thinking about the effect it’s going to have on others.”
A website set up about rail safety, Near Misses, reports there have been 323 near misses in the last year involving cars and pedestrians.
“No matter how harmless they can appear, every incident leaves an emotional impact on the train driver,” the website says.
Police and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency have teamed up to urge people to pay attention around train tracks and level crossings.
Inspector Peter McKennie said people should check for trains at railway tracks the same way people check for cars when crossing the road.
“Unfortunately, some people are complacent about crossing railway tracks. They are looking at their phone, have headphones in or are simply not paying attention as they step out onto the tracks.”
McKennie said other people deliberately cross the tracks despite warning signals sounding.
“As well as risking their own lives, this can lead to copycat behaviour by young children with devastating outcomes.
“Not all rail crossings have bells and lights, and even if they do you, you are less likely to notice them if you don’t make a conscious effort to stop, look and listen.
“A moment of inattention could cost you your life on a train track.”
Waka Kotahi general manager Greg Lazzaro said 110 people have been hit and killed by trains since 2013.
A further 68 have been seriously injured.
“We also can’t ignore the significant impact of near misses – last year there were 320 near misses – that’s almost one a day and any one of them could have resulted in a fatality.”