KEY POINTS:
A rail crossing crash that killed two motorists may simply have been a "tragic error" no safety provisions could have prevented, the Transport Safety Minister said yesterday.
"What the hell are we supposed to do if people drive in front of a train?" Harry Duynhoven asked. Here is a selection of Your Views:
Maddy
If conditions, whether external or internal to the vehicle, have rendered a driver deaf as well as blind, then surely the last thing they should be doing is continuing to operate a motor vehicle. To do so would be dumb.
Katz (Auckland)
I think this is a tragedy. I am certain putting in barrier arm will help and Ontrack should be doing there job making sure lights and bells were working because if they weren't they are responsible for this accident. They should look further into to this accident and see what can be done.
Isaac Broome (Onehunga)
More rail overbridges and underpasses should be built, particularly in built up city areas such as in Auckland, and at busy rail crossings. This is the case in most other countries.
Dayle - Johannesburg South Africa
Late Renee Coombes was my cousin.We in SA are absolutely horrified at her and Brents tragic death.Of all the things and ways to die.We are absolutely cut-up and stricken that this death "trap" has cost and taken yet more lives when just a month ago a brother and sister suffered the same tragedy.The may have escaped the hand of crime in SA but, their cruel death, which could have been prevented makes it all the harder for us to accept and deal with. Renee's mom will be flying in to New Zealand with other family members tomorrow (Weds),she just wants to hold Reef close, hug her and comfort her as she once use to do with her own daughter (Renee) when she was little.
Paul
One of the problems you get when you remove risk from society is that people get used to not having to think about their actions. (Another is that they seek risk elsewhere). If there are lights, then people will assume there is no train if the lights aren't working. Either we install barriers at every crossing in the country with fail safe mechanisms, or people need to take responsibility for looking for trains every time they cross the tracks. Which option is "common" sense?
Robyn (South Africa)
Brent was a very cautious driver. I have been a passenger of his on many occasions. His daughter was his most prized possesion and her safety was his first priority. To everybody who referred to this dear person as an idiot for not taking caution at this railway crossing, he would never have taken chances and the only reason he has been taken from us is because he could not see the train or hear any warning signals. Something was clearly wrong with warning signs.
Brent & Rene, it was an honour knowing you - you lived your dreams and lived life well. You made a beautiful little girl and we will always remind her what wonderful people her mommy and daddy was.
Your cousin Russell and Robyn from South Africa - We'll miss you so!
JB (Auckland)
I don't think barriers are necessary, I agree with one of the former comments that said people would still run into a brick wall if one was placed at a crossing. People need to use their common-sense. There is no use providing expensive flashy safety systems when morons will still try to get around them. You make something idiot-proof, and then someone will come along and make a better idiot. The problem here is that people still haven't learned that you must stop when you see and hear those crossing lights and bells. I resent the fact that this society is so over-regulated, right down to the last detail in this nanny-state because some people are honestly too stupid to think for themselves. Where is the common-sense people? Next thing you know, we will have an instruction manual on how to wipe your backside after using the toilet, specifying toilet paper type, how to fold, etc, etc. People honestly need to learn to start thinking for themselves and not rely on over-complicated expensive safety features to save them from themselves.
Warren (Hamilton)
It's a sad incident, but what I can't understand is how they didn't notice a freight train even with sunstrike? I don't think barriers on every intersection is economically viable. Doesn't the road rules stipulate that you should treat every railway crossing as a giveway irrespective of whether the lights and bells are functional? I know hardly anyone actually follows that rule but I guess that's how these things happen. It would have been a good idea given the lack of visibility to actually check both ways at the intersection, I had a look on the map and it appears that although the road turns sharply, the train track is dead straight. If the train had been travelling in the same direction as the car, they would have been aware of the train before coming to the intersection. As much as I would like to say it was just a wrong time wrong place scenario, I can't help to think that this accident could have been avoided.
Chris (Manurewa)
All level crossing should be eliminated and replaced by bridges. The Railways Act is quite clear. Right of way on level crossings belongs to the train. Motorists are in fact trespassing if they enter the rail corridor when a train is within 800 metres of the crossing.
LV
No need for barrier arms. How about drivers paying attention to their surroundings and ensuring they look both ways before crossing a rail line simple really. If a train is sounding a horn bells are ringing and lights are flashing what more can be expected of the rail companies? At the end of the day the responsibility sits fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the driver no-one else.
Robbonz
I wonder what colour the front of the engine was? The diesels that depart from Wellington have a pale yellow colour, one of the worst possible choices as it is likely to blend in with the scenery, particularly if sunstrike is involved. It may be that the engine was of a different type in this case, but they should all be painted in such a manner as to be easily visible.
Paul Walton
I haven't seen the news article on this, but I wonder if the lights and bells were actually working. We drove across that crossing on Friday, and as we were going across the lines I looked up the track, and to my surprise there was a train coming at us, and I'll swear it wouldn't have been more that 100-150m away. There were definitely no bells or lights going. I don't know how far away the triggers are that set off the lights and bells, but we were all discussing how close the train was and we were looking back to see if the where the barrier arms were down, only to see there were none. Then to hear about the accident the following day, it really made us wonder if the warning system was faulty.
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