Improving safety at level crossings
Petitioner:
Ms Madeline Bott
| Member:
Cooke, Steph
| No. of Signatories:
21,011
| Date closed:
05/07/2021
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
I would like to draw your attention to the issue of level crossing safety. On 23/02/2021, at a passive level crossing my Fiancé and his work colleague lost their lives when their truck collided with a train. As a passive crossing it only had a stop sign. Visibility at this crossing was affected by many factors including over grown grass, trees blocking the view, and the road they approached the crossing from is not at 90 degrees to the track. Had this crossing had lights these factors would have been irrelevant as they would of been notified of the oncoming train and would not of proceeded to cross the railway track.
We have more than 3,800 in New South Wales. There are 1,363 public level crossings in New South Wales and only 30% of these crossings have active warning controls, the rest are passive. By 2030 heavy vehicle traffic is predicted to increase by 50% and rail freight to increase by 90%.These numbers are from predictions made in 2012 as part of research for the Level Crossing Closures Policy. However this predates the inland rail project which will lead to more traffic and greater risk of these types of collisions.
Therefore the undersigned petitioners are requesting the legislative assembly to:
1. Make warning lights mandatory at all level crossings.
2. Decrease speed limits on highways as approaching level crossings.
3. Make trains more visible with reflective material and better lights.
