Australia’s leading rail-based transport company, Aurizon has pleaded with the community to stop putting the lives of their drivers at risk at level crossings after a spate of near misses on the rail network in Western Australia.
Head of safety Danny Harnedy is calling on all motorists to put their safety and the safety of their passengers and our train drivers first before taking short cuts at level crossings.
“We continue to see motorists displaying reckless behaviour at level crossings and disobeying the law, putting the lives of our train drivers and others on the line,” Mr Harnedy said.
“The level crossing at Martin Pelusey Road in Picton continues to be a hot spot with six serious near misses over the past year.
“Motorists continue to cross the tracks only metres in front of our oncoming trains, and more alarmingly, have stopped on the tracks.”
Mr Harnedy said while it was extremely fortunate that collisions didn’t occur in these situations, people need to understand that for every near miss there is a very real and emotional impact for our drivers and their families.
“When our drivers see a vehicle or a person on the tracks, they can’t simply stop or swerve to miss them,” he said.
“Even when the emergency brakes are applied, a fully loaded train can take two kilometres to stop, and the outcome can be devastating.”
Aurizon’s call to action comes as part nnational rail safety week, rail industry body TrackSAFE’s annual community awareness week held in Australia and New Zealand designed to engage the community in safe rail practices.
Mr Harnedy said drivers should always approach rail crossings cautiously and stop, look, listen and think.
“It’s just not worth the risk. No injury or fatality can be justified by the short amount of time that you think you will save by taking a short cut and disobeying the law,” he said.