Quote:
Originally Posted by TRP
Is it just a cost saving that we have mostly half-barrier crossings - wouldn't it be safer to have full barriers?
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Hi Tony, it's not a cost issue. Because AHBs are automatic (operated by the approaching train and NOT connected to the signalling system), it's deemed necessary to have an escape route by having no 'far side' barrier so that people and vehicles can exit from the crossing if the entrance barriers drop behind them.
As someone who drives trains over around flat 300 crossings a day, I believe this is deeply flawed for a number of reasons. Not least by the fact that pedestrians and cyclists on the right hand pavement don't have a barrier and can continue straight out onto the crossing and under the wheels of a train. With the distractions of mp3 players and mobile phones, we have a generation of Zombies with no spacial awareness - they just don't hear the sirens and don't see the wigwags. I've seen many near-misses, and the look of sheer terror on people's faces when a train flashes past just inches from them stays with you.
But as always, the people who make these decisions work in offices and have degrees in subjects like medieval poetry, so of course they know more about it than the peasants who've spent a lifetime doing the job.
Rant over (for now),
Cheers, BW