Karamea Matthes at the level crossing in Ranui, west Auckland where her son Keenan Matthes was fatally struck. Photo / File
Karamea Matthes at the level crossing in Ranui, west Auckland where her son Keenan Matthes was fatally struck. Photo / File
The parents of a West Auckland teenager killed by a train say more needs to be done to improve the safety of level crossings.
The Coroner's report into the death of 16-year-old Keenan Matthes, in 2017, has been released.
The Massey High School rugby player had been out for an early morning run when he was struck by a train. He was wearing headphones at the time.
Coroner Brigitte Windley said she was satisfied changes made at the Rānui level crossing have reduced the chances of a similar tragedy happening again.
She also recognised improvements made to pedestrian safety in and around railway crossings in other parts of Auckland after Keenan's death.
Keenan's mother, Karamea Matthes, said they had been looking back at past reports into similar fatalities where recommendations have been made for safety improvements.
Windley made no formal recommendations in her report into the death.
Karamea Matthes said she knows why there are no recommendations.
"Due to our hard work and pushing for those safety features, they've already been done."
Karamea Matthes holds a photo of her son Keenan Matthes, who died after he was hit by a train in Ranui. Photo / File
Two days before Keenan's 17th birthday last year, the first set of automatic safety swing gates were put in at the crossing he died at.
Since then, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail have put in automatic gates at other crossings including at the Baldwin Ave Station, Fruitvale Rd Station and Mt Albert Station.
Karamea and her husband Presley Matthes parents have become advocates for rail safety and the One Ear Out campaign since their son's death.
The international campaign encourages people - youth, in particular - to stay alert while out and about on roads and around railway tracks.
If they have earphones on, the campaign encourages them to drop one of the headphones in order to stay aware of what is happening around them and any potential dangers.
Windley acknowledged that today's world had many "dangers of distraction'' thanks to personal electronic devices used in transportation environments that could result in a drop in situational awareness.
"We live in a world of distractions," she said.
"Environmental attributes and facilities can assist to some degree in mitigating some of the risks of pedestrian distraction through effective countermeasures."
Windley said in her findings it was simply not possible to install safety protection devices - such as electronic swing gates - along the entire railway corridor.
But raising public awareness and ongoing promoting of safe pedestrian behaviour around trains was and therefore critical.
In her report, Windley also sent condolences to the Matthes family and the young man's friends for their sudden and tragic loss.
She praised Keenan's parents for all they had done to raise awareness of rail safety after his death.
"I commend his parents' dedication in advocating for safer rail environments and raising public awareness of rail safety in an effort to prevent other tragic deaths.
"I also acknowledge that the trauma of a railway track death deeply affects many others - in particular, the train driver and emergency services staff involved. My sympathies are also with them."
