Rail collisions in rural areas: Look again before crossing tracks

Constable Dayna Mercer says police are frustrated with people taking unnecessary risks at rail crossings to save themselves a bit of time.

Dannevirke police sergeant Gary McKernon knows full well the consequences of impatience around trains.

As a young officer in the UK, he attended many tragic scenes.

"The trains [there] moved a lot faster," he said.

A study has revealed a large number of collisions and near collisions with trains occur in rural areas, prompting a nationwide campaign targeting provincial areas for Rail Safety Week.

The study, commissioned by TrackSafe NZ, found that in the past decade, 79 per cent of serious collisions between vehicles and trains at level crossings that caused death or serious injury occurred in rural areas with populations of less than 75,000.

McKernon said people liked to "run the gauntlet" and took stupid risks around level crossings.

He said people needed to trust their eyes and take that second look to ensure the way was clear.

"You will not win against the train."

Deployment and road policing assistant commissioner Bruce O'Brien said rail vs road crashes were more likely to be fatal than other crashes.

"Any death or serious injury from a road crash is one too many, especially if it could have been prevented."

Tararua Alliance supervisor Blake Hedley used to work for KiwiRail and knows how serious it can be.

He said people needed to be patient and wait for trains to pass.

"There have been far too many families and friends lost due to a second's inattention."

There is at least one vehicle collision on rail lines around New Zealand every three weeks.

In the Manawatū-Whanganui region, there were two collisions with a heavy road vehicle reported in the past year.

Level crossings in rural areas account for more than three quarters of serious incidents.

There were 10 near collisions – nine with vehicles and one with a person recorded in the same timeframe.

Hedley had some pointers for drivers around level crossings, such as turning the phone onto silent before starting their journey.

"Don't let this be a distraction."

He said drivers should make sure they were well rested and fit to drive, have plenty of water and take regular breaks when travelling long distance.

At level crossings, if they had warning bells, lights and barriers, drivers should stop and wait for them to stop before proceeding, Hedley said.

On uncontrolled crossings, he said to stop, look left and right, do it twice and make sure it was clear before crossing.

"For pedestrians, cross at approved crossings only, be aware that headphones take away one of your senses and can affect your surroundings and awareness."

Farmers should also make sure boundary fences were secure and gates were shut to prevent livestock wandering onto tracks and being killed by trains.

KiwiRail Group chief executive Greg Miller said while the campaign was aimed at rural New Zealand, it was important for everyone.

"Farmers and rural workers are over-represented in the statistics when it comes to serious injury and fatal vehicle crashes."

He said people in rural areas often started their day early and crossing railway lines safely might not be at the forefront of their minds when starting a busy working day.

"Train accidents are unforgiving. The average freight train weighs 2000 tonnes or more and cannot swerve to avoid a car or stop easily."

It was not only vehicles and people that train drivers had to worry about.

Miller said there had been 65 incidents of hitting livestock in the past 12 months.

“These incidents are obviously disastrous for the animals involved, but also can be traumatising for our locomotive engineers, farmers and others who may be required to euthanise injured animals and clean the locomotive and tracks.”