Media centre

Wednesday 9 May 2012

SCOTS WARNED: SHORTCUTS CUT SHORT LIVES

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Nearly 50 people including eight in Scotland, have been killed after taking shortcuts and trespassing across the railway tracks in the last year, according to Network Rail. To highlight this, it has teamed up with British and World 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene to warn young men about the dangers of taking a short cut across the tracks. Shockingly, 88% of accidental trespass fatalities in the last ten years were male with more than a third aged 16-25.

Dai appears in an online video, part of a new campaign launched today called “Track Tests”. Dai is given a realistic but unusual running test – across the tracks – but it’s not as easy as it seems, even for a top athlete at the peak of his condition. It’s dark, there’s grease on the line, unexpected trip hazards and it’s raining. It aims to illustrate that if a fit, agile athlete used to leaping high hurdles at speed, is unable to get out of the way of a train travelling at 80mph, then you won’t either. The video will be part of a new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TrackTests" href="http://www.facebook.com/TrackTests">http://www.facebook.com/TrackTests and online/mobile advertising campaign over the next four weeks.

Dai Greene explained why he was keen to get involved with this new campaign: “Day in day out, I train hard to make sure I am as quick as I can be. On the running track it’s important that my reactions are lightning fast but on the train track - during filming - that didn’t count for much. The experience has brought to life just how many dangers there are on the rail tracks – most of which I knew nothing about. I hope that this film really helps Network Rail to show people that taking the risk is never worth it.”

David Simpson, Network Rail Scotland route, managing director said: “Any fatality on the railway is one too many but it is even more heart-breaking when it is avoidable. Young men are disproportionately represented in trespass fatalities. Often these are young men with seemingly long lives ahead of them who, because of bad or impaired judgment make bad choices. We believe that highlighting this issue and sending a strong message through an Olympian and a role model like Dai Greene, we will reach out to young men and help them make better choices in the future.”

Trespass statistics

• From 01/04/2011 – -31/03/2012 there were eight (49 in UK) accidental trespass fatalities (excluding suicides and fatalities at level crossings) in Scotland *These figures are subject to alteration following coroners’ inquests.
• There were 39 (445 in Great Britain) recorded near misses between trespassers and trains with reports of people crossing the tracks to the opposite platform upon realising their train was leaving from there, jumping down to retrieve phones or wallets, walking alongside the tracks as a shortcut home.

From 01/04/2001 to 31/03/2011 (latest full year results)

• The peak ages for trespass fatalities are the late teens and the early twenties.
• The percentage of male trespass fatalities is disproportionately high compared to their level in the overall population. Although males make up just under 50% of the total population, they have accounted for 88% of trespass fatalities over the past 10 years.
• In more than half of incidents, the reason for the trespass is not known or not identified. In those events where the motivation for the trespass is identifiable, the most common reason (37%) is for the purposes of taking a short cut. Other reasons where the trespass is a means to an end include retrieving property, walking dogs, fare evasion, and committing criminal damage or graffiti.
• Over the past ten years, the greatest number of trespasser fatalities has occurred on a Saturday. The most common time (on any day) for the fatality to occur for those aged 16-30 is 2200 – 0200. From 2001-2011 there were 205 fatalities in this age group. 75 were during this time period (37%).

Notes to Editors:

All trespass statistics provided by RSSB - the rail industry body, www.rssb.co.uk

FACTS

• You generally have more chance of seeing a train than hearing it. until it is less than 300 metres or 8 seconds away

• Sections of tracks move to redirect trains. But feet can get caught in the mechanism without the signaller seeing anyone, as there is not a camera on every piece of track

• The time it takes a person to perceive a threat and react to it is known as the perception-reaction time. In accident reconstructions, it is usually found to be at least 1.5 seconds and increases with increasing danger.

• The danger isn’t just on the tracks; it’s also dangerous next to the tracks. Trains tilt and changes in air pressure can pull people under trains. For any train over 40 mph, the danger envelope is at least 2-3 metres on either side of the track, that’s at least a 5-7m total danger zone when you include the track.

• At 125mph a 450 tonne train takes 2km, or 20 football pitches to stop. By the time the human eye sees a person on the tracks it’s much too late to stop the train.