Wednesday 15 Feb 2017
Shocking video shows motorist swerving around safety barriers at Black Country level crossing
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
A shocking video has been released showing a motorist putting their life and others at risk as they swerve at speed around safety barriers at a Black Country level crossing.
The driver of a silver Citroen is seen shamelessly weaving between the barriers at Langley Green level crossing near Oldbury, on Friday 3 February.
The reckless manoeuvre saw the speeding car narrowly miss two barriers as they lowered before speeding off.
Ben Parish, route level crossing manager for Network Rail, said: “This selfish driver had callous neglect for the safety of themselves and others by ignoring the barriers and signals. Level crossing barriers and warning lights are there to help road users, pedestrians and railway users stay safe. Misusing crossings in this way could result in serious injury or worse.
“I can’t emphasise strongly enough the importance of sensible level crossing use. If anyone has any concerns about a level crossing I would urge them to contact us immediately.”
Inspector Dave Rams from BTP in Birmingham said: “Unfortunately, it has not been possible to identify the driver involved in this incident and we’d always urge anyone with information about level crossing misuse to contact us.
“Busier level crossings have warning lights and ignoring them is dealt with the same as ignoring a red traffic light. You risk losing your licence, a £1000 fine and, in the most serious cases, charges such as dangerous driving.
“Alongside Network Rail, we work around the year to encourage safer use of level crossings, including high visibility patrols and mobile camera operations to deter and catch offenders. I’d urge people to heed this warning and not risk their lives – or those of others – for the sake of waiting just a few moments for a train to pass.”
To report incidents like this or any other railway-related crime contact Network 24 hours-a-day on 03457 11 41 41. For more information on level crossings visit www.networkrail.co.uk/level-crossings.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk