One Level Crossing Accident A Year Is Too Many

An accident at a level crossing in Suffolk yesterday has highlighted the dangers of motorists taking both their lives, and those of many others, into their hands when they fail to use the crossings properly.

The accident involved a two-carriage local passenger train, which was carrying 20 people from Sudbury to Marks Tey when it collided with a sewage tanker. The collision happened shortly after 5.30 pm at the Little Cornard crossing near the village of Bures. twenty-one people were injured, four of them seriously. Two of the four were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, while the others are described as 'serious but stable.' A child was among those hurt, but it is unclear how serious their injuries are.

Crucial to the investigation that is now underway is whether the driver of the 44-tonne tanker made contact with the signal operator to seek permission to cross, since at such in such a small village an automatic crossing would not be practicable. The driver was arrested at the scene of the crash on suspicion of dangerous driving.

The accident comes on the back of an increased safety drive by Network Rail to try and reduce precisely this kind of occurrence. Last year thirteen people were killed at level crossings and there were a further fourteen collisions between trains and road vehicles. NR also say that there are the equivalent of three 'near-misses' a week - a total of around 3,244, and that is far too high.

There have been several high-profile accidents of a similar nature in recent years: in November 2004 a high-speed First Great Western train from London from Plymouth ploughed into a car that had been driven on to the tracks at Ufton Nervet in Berkshire. Seven people died in the crash, including both the driver of the car, Brian Drysdale, and the train driver.

And in February 2001, Gary Hart's Land Rover ended up on the tracks near Selby, North Yorkshire, and was struck by a Newcastle-London train while Hart was frantically trying to call emergency services. The impact with his car derailed the train, which managed to stay upright, but a subsequent collision with a freight locomotive killed both drivers and eight other people. Hart was sentenced to five years in prison.

An AA representative says, ''Level crossings are one of the few places where one motorist's irresponsibility can affect the safety of many, many people. Motorists must be aware of the rules, which are simple, logical and well signed. The risk in trying to save two minutes jumping a level crossing just isn't worth it.''

Earlier this year NR and other bodies proposed changes to the driving theory test to make more learner drivers aware of the hazards of flippancy at level crossings. He wants to see behaviour such as driving around barriers and jumping red lights eradicated. NR estimate that as many as 95 per cent of crossing accidents are caused by pedestrian or driver carelessness or error.