Another LC collision

buffy500 · Post by **buffy500** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:45 am

ianmacmillan wrote: And it's easy to catch them with cameras.

Sorry, you can't use cameras, 'the people' don't like them.

jbilton · Post by **jbilton** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:46 am

JSReeves86 wrote:
jbilton wrote: The AHB I use comes down and the train passes within about 15 seconds, not much time for mistakes, and certainly no time for the driver to see any blockage and brake.
Cheers
Jon
Cant be a very high speed line then as even the Romney barriers need to be down for around 30 seconds before the train passes i belive and thats at 15mph.

JR

Hi
Line speed is 50 mph I believe...might be 60 mph.
From ambers to barriers going back up is 35 seconds... class 153 passing.
Cheers
Jon

buffy500 · Post by **buffy500** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:51 am

The AHB cycle needs to allow something like 35 seconds from barriers down to train arriving at the crossing.

jbilton · Post by **jbilton** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:11 am

buffy500 wrote:The AHB cycle needs to allow something like 35 seconds from barriers down to train arriving at the crossing.

Hi
I mentioned this in a post a few months back....and was told it was normal.
I've timed it and its 35 secs from ambers to train passing, barriers up.
Now it could be train speeding, or something else.
As I posted elsewhere, there are Network Rail employees at it every few days... quite worrying.
Cheers
Jon

Tomnick · Post by **Tomnick** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:21 am

I believe that it's actually 27/28 seconds minimum from the first amber light to the train arriving at the crossing, in the case of an AHB? That'd make Jon's 35 second figure quite believable.

It might seem like a short time, but too much longer - and drivers will be too likely to get impatient and weave around the barriers!

danielw2599 · Post by **danielw2599** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:24 pm

Heres whats left of the car...(well half of it anyway

)

jamesinbolton · Post by **jamesinbolton** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:34 am

danielw2599 wrote:Heres whats left of the car...(well half of it anyway )

Train 1 Car Nil.

When will they learn?

Post by **codrivermike** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:58 am

buffy500 wrote:
ianmacmillan wrote: And it's easy to catch them with cameras.
Sorry, you can't use cameras, 'the people' don't like them.

No. We only dislike "Revenue earner cameras"

AHB cameras and red light cameras (as opposed to red light district cameras) have my full support.

Michael

JSReeves86 · Post by **JSReeves86** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:02 am

Nasty, how far back is the crossing?

JR

jbilton · Post by **jbilton** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:20 am

codrivermike wrote: No. We only dislike "Revenue earner cameras"

AHB cameras and red light cameras (as opposed to red light district cameras) have my full support.

Michael

Hi Mike
I take it you mean speed enforcement camera's....or is there a new version that changes the road speed once you've past the sign and entered it ?
Something I would like to see introduced is a camera that can distinguish vehicle size... so I can travel through it at 60mph say...but if a van does , it registers.
I know this is your business, but the 'white van culture' that has sprung up over the last 10 years is wrong and potentially very dangerous.
What do I mean when I say 'white van culture'.
I mean unregulated, poorly trained people, driving unmarked vans, possibly overladed, too fast for road conditions.They haven't got enough time to do the job properly, because the industry they are working in is all private and throat cutting.
BTW the correct way to go about changing a road speed is to campaign, not just ignore the speed.
We had the same problem locally with private hire vehicles (not taxis) a few years back, only heavy penalties and removal of licences stoped it.
Still see the odd 'new boy'.... but a few pulls..and he usually slows down...well either that or he's walking..his choice really.
Cheers
Jon

danielw2599 · Post by **danielw2599** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:09 pm

JSReeves86 wrote:Nasty, how far back is the crossing?

JR

Just over a mile I believe. According to the drivers report there was only about 1-2 seconds before the car entered the crossing and impact.

jbilton · Post by **jbilton** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:13 pm

danielw2599 wrote:
JSReeves86 wrote:Nasty, how far back is the crossing?

JR
Just over a mile I believe. According to the drivers report there was only about 1-2 seconds before the car entered the crossing and impact.

Makes you wonder whats going on in the car drivers head... and if they had done this sort of thing before.
Or was it a mistake?
Certainly cameras would help, and give a record of events.
Cheers
Jon

jibjub · Post by **jibjub** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:28 pm

this is incredibly similar to what they very recently did on top gear. Passengers said stones were flying everywhere and the train went on down the line for a mile etc...

Something obviously needs too be done

mattvince · Post by **mattvince** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:37 pm

jibjub wrote:this is incredibly similar to what they very recently did on top gear. Passengers said stones were flying everywhere and the train went on down the line for a mile etc...

Something obviously needs too be done

Trouble is, it's a psychological/social issue caused by the motor vehicle. Modern cars are so 'safe' (and promoted as such) that it breeds complacency on the part of motorists - they know that mistakes will 'cost' them less in a modern car than in something built twenty years ago. As complacency rises, the standards of driving appears to decline. As Top Gear showed, even a Five-Star NCAP safety rating means nothing when near-irresistible force meets very moveable and fragile object.

"Something must be done" - like what? You can build all the systems you like, but motorists will continue to drive through red lights (whether ordinary traffic lights or level crossing lights). The railways have spent millions over the last few years developing systems, procedures, training and a culture which have reduced the incidents of Signals Passed At Danger, and mitigating the effects of SPADs when they occur, plus a review of each incident. Nothing like this exists for motorists. Perhaps high risk crossings (those that cannot be closed/replaced) should be protected by retractable bollards, similar to those shown in the oft-linked CCTV footage.

buffy500 · Post by **buffy500** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:09 pm

codrivermike wrote:
buffy500 wrote:
ianmacmillan wrote: And it's easy to catch them with cameras.
Sorry, you can't use cameras, 'the people' don't like them.

No. We only dislike "Revenue earner cameras"

AHB cameras and red light cameras (as opposed to red light district cameras) have my full support.

Michael

Did they recently change the RTA which changed the way speed limits work ?

(Answer is no by the way

)

Theres plenty of laws I may not agree with, but at the moment, they have not made them optional so the choice is either live with it, or take the punishment if caught breaking it.
It IS really that simple.

And I dont even think the UK is that bad, (I've found FAAAR easier to get caught speeding in Oz than here !)