Another Rail Accident in Oz.
 

Accidents like this one seems to occur every month or so.

Dave

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...61-952,00.html

Tragic, But I supose you can't have barriers on every crossing throughout outback Oz. It's a terrible game of russian roulette diving across a crossing in thick fog

Surely common sense would have prevailed here and the Minibus Driver Stopped, got OUT and Listened for any train approaching, OR do they not have phones at these remote crossings for such things and fog?

That is why it is so difficult to judge. Maybe he did stop and listen etc, or did he just take a chance and rush across?

But even in the UK, if a bus driver refused to cross a level crossing just because of fog he would be labled a Health and Safety jobsworth. Especially if he was sitting there for a hour and no trains came! In Australia I am sure they would have even less sympathy for a Jobsworth. I am not saying that he should have taken the risk. But this is a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.

(There is no excuse at all for jumping the barriers on a UK crossing. That is criminal stupidity that should lead to an automatic prison sentence. I have to cross a level crossing twice a day, and I have lost count of the number of times that I have been blasted by the horn of the car behind me because I have stopped for the flashing amber lights :mad: )

I would suggest being alive is less damned then getting hit by a train, especially with kids on board, you just "Don't run the risk" at the fear of quoting Network Rail.

Health & Safety executives then take incidents like these to install bubble wrap in the walls of trains and vans and will be forcing children to wear high-vis jackets anyway so he might as well have taken the extra caution.

Very sad, I dont like to hear of any tragic loss of life, but it is worse when children are involved.
Paul.