Media centre

Thursday 9 Jun 2011

CAMERA VAN SHOWS WOMEN AGED 50-65 ARE COMMITTING MOST LEVEL CROSSING OFFENCES

Region & Route:

| Southern

The first findings of an initiative in south east England to curb dangerous and disruptive activity at level crossings has revealed that female motorists aged between 50–65 years old committed the most offences*, accounting for over a quarter of those recorded.

The surprising trend comes to light after analysing the data gathered in just a few months since the purpose-built marked police van, which contains cutting-edge camera technology to deter motorists from breaking the law at level crossings, started operations in January 2011. Despite having a highly visible presence close to the crossing, British Transport Police officers, who operate the van, have caught and prosecuted 1,131 people with various offences ranging from jumping the lights and driving through crossings as barriers come down to striking barriers, careless and dangerous driving and yellow box junction obstructions.

Men aged 50-65 account for the second highest number of offences (19%), which means that this age group alone is responsible for 47% of the misuse caught on camera. By contrast, males aged between 17-25 – often regarded as the highest risk motoring group - accounted for 8% of offences.

To date, the van has carried out operations at 43 level crossings across the south east of England. Motorists and pedestrians in Greater London committed the highest number of offences, accounting for 46% of those recorded to date. Kent residents accounted for the next highest number of offences (17%), followed by Surrey (14%), West Sussex (13%), East Sussex (5%) and Hampshire (3%).

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s director of operational services, said: “The camera vehicle has proved what we always believed, that far too many people are misusing level crossings. Although the initial trend shows that older people are responsible for the highest number of offences, all ages misuse crossings. Our aim is to deter them all rather than prosecute. We hope those caught will change their behaviour and along with our other activities we’ll see a reduced impact on passenger services and the cost of these crimes on the running of the railway.”

Jumping the red lights was the offence committed by the most people (61%) followed by stopping on a box junction (27%). Dangerous driving and careless driving accounted for 2% of offences each and 4% of prosecutions were for pedestrians who did not follow the rules.

Mrs Crowther added: “As it accounted for almost two thirds of offences recorded, it is worth reminding drivers and pedestrians that if the red lights are flashing, they should not attempt to cross.”

Although there has been a large number of people prosecuted for misusing level crossings, initial signs suggest the initiative is making a difference. Covert surveillance carried out at three of the crossings before the van was introduced and after numerous operations showed a 31% - 45% decrease in the number of incidents recorded.

Superintendent Andrew Ball, from BTPs London South area said: "Whilst the findings are surprising, when people ignore the warnings, there can be fatal circumstances. We understand that waiting at a crossing can be frustrating, but warnings including lights and barriers are there to protect the public from an incredibly busy rail network.

"The innovative sat nav technology will be a useful tool in helping to reduce level crossing misuse across the country. In comparison to most other countries we have a good safety record, but misuse of crossing persists, despite our best efforts, and even one death is one too many.

"Our officers remain committed to not only detecting offenders, but working closely with Network Rail to reinforce the safety message and continue our educational approach in order to change driver behaviour.

"Jumping the lights and ignoring warning signs is still sadly a sight we see all too often. Level crossings are safe but if misused they pose very real risks. It is just not worth it, by trying to save a few seconds, you could end up seriously hurt or losing your life."

The latest revelations have been highlighted to coincide with Network Rail’s support for International Level Crossing Awareness Day where around 40 countries are organising activities to promote safety at level crossings worldwide.

Another initiative being launched by the company a world first in sat nav technology which will improve awareness of level crossings and encourage safer driving. A free downloadable application which alerts drivers with a cheery train whistle sound that they are approaching a level crossing has been developed by Network Rail and leading satellite navigation provider Garmin.

It is hoped the new technology will encourage safer motoring and reduce the number of incidents which cause damage, disruption and a number of deaths each year.

The free application can be downloaded onto Garmin nüvi or nüLink sat navs from its website. Similar to choosing options that alert you to approaching speed cameras, the device whistles like a train and an ‘X’ appears on the screen with the name of the level crossing so motorists can approach and cross with care**. The companies are also looking into developing an intelligent version where motorists can choose to set a journey to avoid level crossings. They also want to develop the application so the sat nav would alter your route to avoid a level crossing where the barriers are down for a significant period of time, if the alternative was quicker.

Dyan Crowther said: "Motorists that jump the lights or smash into barriers as they try and beat them coming down can cause great disruption and cost to the network, so we’re always looking at new ways to reduce the risk of incidents at level crossings.

"Sat nav technology has proved to be a great help to motorists in alerting them to what’s ahead on the road, so developing an app around level crossings seemed a smart idea and we hope it will be a useful aid to motorists as the roads and the railway get even busier."

Anthony Chmarny, Garmin head of communications said, “The development of this free level crossing application shows the ongoing commitment we have to ensure our sat nav customers have the very best travel information at the tip of their fingers. We believe this will help to save time, money and most importantly improve drivers’ safety during their journey.”