Regional motorists are being urged to obey the rules and stay safe around level crossings, after joint enforcement in regional areas resulted in 80 driver fines for ignoring signals about approaching trains and for speeding.
The NSW Government is investing $7.3 million a year through the Level Crossing Improvement Program to accelerate upgrades of priority public level crossings and through level
crossing safety education and enforcement campaigns.
The safety message comes with Rail Safety Week, a reminder to be safe on and around the rail network. Rail Safety Week will be marked across NSW with events focused on Werris Creek and is strongly supported by the government.
During a recent ten-day Level Crossing Awareness and Enforcement campaign in the Liverpool Plains area, NSW Police detected 55 offences at level crossings in Nea, Curlewis, Caroona and Gunnedah including 26 level crossing offences and 26 speeding offences.
Police penalized a further 35 motorists at four level crossings in the Riverina around Junee and Marrar, detecting 26 level crossing offences and six speeding offences.
There were five collisions between trains and road vehicles at level crossings in NSW last financial year including the single fatal collision at the Twigg Road Yenda level crossing last September. There were also 74 near hits between trains and road vehicles at level crossings in NSW.
Across in the past 10 years there have been 69 collisions between trains and vehicles at NSW’s 1,307 public road level crossings, resulting in 9 deaths and nine serious injuries. Some 64 of those crashes occurred in regional NSW.
Every year, the NSW Police Force and Transport for NSW run localised awareness and enforcement campaigns to enforce the rules at level crossings using highly visible police enforcement.
Motorists who gamble with their safety at level crossings face three demerit points and a $562 fine.
Trains can travel at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour and can take up to 1.4 kilometres, or 14 football fields, to come to a complete stop. Even if a train driver sees a car, they can’t stop in time.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley said it is important to keep alert.
“On long drives, especially on our regional roads, it’s easy to slip into autopilot but if you miss a warning sign, you could be missing the chance to save your own life,” she said.
“If you’re not responding to the signs at level crossings, you’re not paying enough attention to drive on our roads and that makes you a danger to yourself and everyone else.
“Level crossing safety comes down to one thing – paying attention. Whether you’ve been behind the wheel for five minutes or five hours, you can’t afford to switch off.”
Minister for Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison said:
“Closed gates and flashing lights at level crossings mean that a train is approaching and motorists who choose to ignore these signals are putting themselves, their passengers, pedestrians, as well as train passengers and drivers at risk.
“With more than 30 trains a day passing through some level crossings, it’s extremely important for motorists to be patient and obey the signs, flashing lights, boom gates and road markings.
“Ignoring them can and sadly has resulted in avoidable tragedy.
“It can only take a few seconds for a fatal collision to happen.
“Even if the train driver sees you, they often cannot stop in time.
“It’s concerning that so many motorists are speeding on approach to and across level crossings and committing offences despite the presence of clearly marked Highway Patrol vehicles at the level crossings.
“Safety is our top priority, but we all need to look out for each other to ensure everyone reaches their destination safely.”
