Level crossing RLJ

[LollyKat]

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/national/10711379.Cyclist_in_level_crossing_near_miss/

May make her think twice the next time?

[broadway]

It's ok, she's wearing a helmet

[661-Pete]

There's video of the incident on this link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ca ... e-24364332
Scary! Complete idiot. I've no sympathy with her whatever. There are quite a number of LCs in our area. All of them have to be treated with respect. If the lights flash or the barriers go down, you stop, whether you're a motorist, cyclist, horse rider or pedestrian. No buts.

Notice the other cyclist going the other way, correctly waiting at the barrier as he should. I hope he gave her an earful as he passed.

[Mark1978]

It's a shame that elsewhere this is already being used of "yet more evidence of cyclists running red lights" etc, yet how many times have we heard of cars going through level crossings.

[661-Pete]

Thinking about it, if I'd been there, I'd have been tempted to do a 'citizen's arrest'. After all, endangering the safety of a train, and trespassing on a railway, are criminal offences. Or at the very least, seized her bike until the police arrived. Would I have been justified in doing so?

Sorry, I feel very angry having watched this. No matter that motorists also do idiotic things at LCs too. Just gives more ammo to the cyclist-bashing lot, plus the trauma it must have put the unfortunate train driver through.

[kwackers]

Thinking about it, if I'd been there, I'd have been tempted to do a 'citizen's arrest'. After all, endangering the safety of a train, and trespassing on a railway, are criminal offences. Or at the very least, seized her bike until the police arrived. Would I have been justified in doing so?

Sorry, I feel very angry having watched this. No matter that motorists also do idiotic things at LCs too. Just gives more ammo to the cyclist-bashing lot, plus the trauma it must have put the unfortunate train driver through.

I'm not sure a 60kg human endangers a train, given the minimal damage a 2 ton car seems to do.

I'd also think twice about grabbing a girl on a bike. I'm not sure the camera is good enough to save you from being accused of 'copping a feel'

[661-Pete]

I'm not sure a 60kg human endangers a train, given the minimal damage a 2 ton car seems to do.

Maybe not, but if a bit of solid metalwork (the B/B perhaps) gets under a wheel it could cause a derailment. Some dozen people were killed (including a friend of mine) some years ago when a train derailed after hitting a cow.

I'd also think twice about grabbing a girl on a bike. I'm not sure the camera is good enough to save you from being accused of 'copping a feel'

Alas, the odds are stacked against the 'good citizen' intent on 'doing their duty'! I know what you mean. I was thinking along the lines of making a grab for the bike, not the woman, and then padlocking it somewhere.

[[XAP]Bob]

Flipping 'eck.

I'm not sure why the driver bothered with the emergency brake though, I mean you may as well wait until you've actually hit something with the braking distances involved.

[kwackers]

Flipping 'eck.

I'm not sure why the driver bothered with the emergency brake though, I mean you may as well wait until you've actually hit something with the braking distances involved.

I suspect he wouldn't know whether he'd hit until he'd stopped and checked.

[broadway]

I'm not sure a 60kg human endangers a train, given the minimal damage a 2 ton car seems to do.

It may not endanger the train, however by applying the emergency brakes passengers will be.

[mjr]

I've been on a train that's hit a deer on that line. A bit of bumping along the underside of the train and little else. Train stopped at the next station to fish the remnants out if I remember right. I doubt a person would do much more damage, but a metal bike might.

Anyway, that rider is an idiot but I'm surprised the crossing has only half-barriers. It looks like it's the one in the middle of the station (Way Out sign and penalty fare notice visible bottom left), but it looks like an Anglia train that I think passes through non-stop (but passing a wooden station at 75mph? Seems surprising).

Even the crossings on the low-speed single-line section at the end of that line in King's Lynn have full-width barriers, so why doesn't Waterbeach, which has far more trains running through it? The annoyance of climbing over full-width barriers is usually more than the annoyance of stopping for a minute, so nutters rarely bother. If I was cynical, I'd suggest leaving it half-barriered and releasing these videos is railway propaganda while they push to close more level crossings. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/2012/ ... programme/

[Mark1978]

Flipping 'eck.

I'm not sure why the driver bothered with the emergency brake though, I mean you may as well wait until you've actually hit something with the braking distances involved.

I suspect he wouldn't know whether he'd hit until he'd stopped and checked.

I would also imagine that it's an absolute requirement to stop the train should you suspect you've hit anything or there's a possibility you might have done.

[broadway]

I've been on a train that's hit a deer on that line. A bit of bumping along the underside of the train and little else. Train stopped at the next station to fish the remnants out if I remember right. I doubt a person would do much more damage, but a metal bike might.

Anyway, that rider is an idiot but I'm surprised the crossing has only half-barriers. It looks like it's the one in the middle of the station (Way Out sign and penalty fare notice visible bottom left), but it looks like an Anglia train that I think passes through non-stop (but passing a wooden station at 75mph? Seems surprising).

Even the crossings on the low-speed single-line section at the end of that line in King's Lynn have full-width barriers, so why doesn't Waterbeach, which has far more trains running through it? The annoyance of climbing over full-width barriers is usually more than the annoyance of stopping for a minute, so nutters rarely bother. If I was cynical, I'd suggest leaving it half-barriered and releasing these videos is railway propaganda while they push to close more level crossings. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/2012/ ... programme/

Half barriers have the advantage that it allows an exit route, half and full barriers both have advantages and disadvantages.

On the line I use the only ones with full barriers are those with adjacent signal boxes. To replace them with full barriers would require CCTV and a signalman operator to monitor them remotely, a non-trivial task. At Ufton Nervet this is what has been campaigned for but NR they have decided to replace it with a bridge, which is most likely the safest option, but not to the taste of one of the campaigners.

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2012/ange ... ton-nervet

Nutters are quite capable of jumping barriers as a quick search on youtube will show.

Lastly giving the current compensation risk, do you blame NR for wanting to close barriers?

[iviehoff]

This incident really has very little to do with cycling. The fact that the person happened to be using a bicycle as a means of locomotion at the time, rather than being on foot, in a car, a motorcycle, or riding a camel is somewhat incidental.

[thirdcrank]

[canteen humour]I couldn't help noticing this in the OP's link

Pc Matt Mildinhall said: "This woman simply put her life on the line ... "

[/canteen humour]

And while I was posting we have "means of locomotion."