VIDEO: New technology introduced as near misses involving children at South East level crossings expected to rise over the summer holidays: Distraction campaign Summer 2017

Friday 14 Jul 2017

VIDEO: New technology introduced as near misses involving children at South East level crossings expected to rise over the summer holidays

Region & Route:
| Southern

New figures[1] from Network Rail reveal that young people are more likely to have a near miss at a level crossing during the summer, when lighter nights and the summer holidays mean they will be outdoors for longer.

Many of them will simply be distracted when crossing the railway, either by their friends, their phones or their cameras. To help combat the issue of distraction at level crossings, Network Rail and British Transport Police are introducing geo- targeting at a number of level crossings where phone distraction has been flagged as high risk.

The system will alert people using their phones near level crossings to put them away.

One of the crossings targeted is Simpson’s foot crossing, near Sittingbourne, where this video was taken using CCTV earlier this year. The young people in the footage were identified and the dangers of their actions explained to them by Network Rail community safety manager Nicola Dooris.

She said: “Many young people simply don’t think about the dangers of the railway and parents will know how difficult it is to drag their kids away from their phones or other tech.  Those two factors together mean that we have a constant battle to get through to children to help them stay out of danger. Anything parents can do to help us could make all the difference.”

New data[1] has revealed that over two thirds (70 per cent) of near misses are due to distraction, with the top three distractions at level crossings highlighted as friends (40 per cent), headphones (20 per cent) and mobile phones (12 per cent). Almost a third (29%) of young adults admit to using their mobile phone while crossing the railway. A huge 95 per cent of under 25 year olds report owning a smart phone and spend twice the amount of time on their mobile than the average user.

Locations in the South East where the geo-targeting message will be broadcast are:

  • Dibley’s foot crossing, Chartham , near Canterbury in Kent
  • Glebe Way[2] foot crossing, Whitstable, Kent
  • Whitehall Road, level crossing, Canterbury, Kent
  • Simpson’s foot crossing, Sittingbourne, Kent
  • Teynham West foot crossing, near Faversham, Kent
  • Red Lane Holland, foot crossing, Oxted, Surrey
  • Rushford’s foot crossing, Lingfield, Surrey
  • Bourneview foot crossing, Kenley, Surrey
  • Warnham foot crossing, North Horsham, West Sussex
  • Stockbridge and Basin Road level crossings, Chichester, West Sussex

Video – how we operate Stockbridge and Basin Road crossings in Chichester

While Britain still has the safest rail network in Europe, level crossings are one of the biggest public safety risks on the railway. In the last five years there have been more than 2,000 incidents on level

Inspector Becky Warren from British Transport Police (BTP) said: “Level crossings are there to help people cross the railway when it is safe to do so but pedestrians need to pay full attention when they use them.

“Sadly, our officers know the tragedy families are faced with after a loved one is killed at a level crossing. A moment of distraction, be that checking a text or changing a song, can leave devastation and heartbreak for families. 

“We regularly conduct operations at level crossings and run events across the country in conjunction with our partners in Network Rail to raise awareness on how to use crossings safely.”

Network Rail’s army of over 100 level crossing and community safety managers will also be raising awareness of rail safety right across the rail network by holding safety events and encouraging young people to stay alert when on the rail network.

To find out more about how to stay safe when using level crossings visit www.networkrail.co.uk/level-crossings/

Notes to Editors

Notes to eds:

  1. Network Rail level crossing data July 2017 – Dec/Jan events at 15 per month on average, rising to 47 in August and over 50 in September
  2. Populous Phone smart survey of 2000 young adults October 2016
  3. Network Rail plans to replace Glebe Way level crossing with a footbridge and plans are in with the district council.

Guidance on level crossing use

  • Most crossings have a sign and lights or bells that alert you if a train is coming. Many will also have gates that close when a train is coming. If this happens wait until the train has passed
  • When crossing tracks at a railway crossing, you should: Stop and look both ways before crossing, listen for the train coming and for warning bells, if there are lights watch for them to flash
  • Stand well back from the tracks if a train is going by
  • Never try to cross the tracks if a train is coming. It can take up to one and a half miles for a train to come to a complete stop
  • Always make sure there are no other trains coming before crossing

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 - Chris Denham
Senior media relations manager
020 3357 7969
07515 626530
chris.denham@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.

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