If a train driver makes an honest mistake he should not be prosecuted, & if the CPS were daft enough to bring a prosecution he certainly would be found not guilty by a jury of 12 decent people. Remember the test for a finding of guilt in a criminal case is that all the 12 jury members,or if the judge agrees, 10 of them, must be certain,such that they have no doubt,that the driver intentionally shut the doors knowing a person would be trapped. The train driver's barrister simply has to suggest reasons why the driver thought it safe to shut the doors for the jurors to have a reason to acquit. And the odds are enormously in the driver's favour. It only needs 3 of the 12 jurors to think it possible he made an honest mistake for him to be acquitted. I think some anti DOO people are deliberately whipping up fears of successful prosecutions of drivers for manslaughter. Ordinary decent people do not want to convict hard working train drivers for the sake of it.
All well and good but why should a train driver (of which I am one) be treated differently to anyone else?
If I make a mistake and that causes injury or death then I should be treated the same as everyone else.
Remember how, in one case, the prosecution made such a big thing about a train driver not setting up the GSM-R that the jury thought it was against the rules ergo the train driver was guilty, just because the rule book allows something doesnt mean the jury will understand it.
Prosecution Lawyers are very good at leading a jury to believe what they want them to believe and once they have got that in their heads they see the defence lawyers trying to muddy the waters but wont change their minds, you might like to trust that no harm will come out of it, but I would much rather not be in front of them in the first place.
You think it's in the public interest for negligent rail staff to get away with killing and/or injuring people? Ok.
Can you explain how Martin Zee was in any way negligent please, becasuse the RAIB couldnt, so unless you have any evidence of negligence on his part may I recommend youwithdraw that statement!
Oh and posters like you are why I dont trust juries, imagine having 12 people like you on the jury with your 'he must be guilty or he wouldnt have been prosecuted' attitude and guess what the verdict would be regardless of what the evidence said!
Lucky for him you're not the judge and jury as you've found him guilty before any trial or evidence has been heard.
He isnt the only one on here that has done that.
Indeed, there is so much to speculate about in this case.
Part of me thinks the CPS will quietly drop this in the coming weeks before a trial is begun.
And if that does happen I hope the guards lawyers sue the CPS for all the sress he has had to go through over the last two years!
Hypothetical question-
If he had been prosecuted within a decent timescale (and found guilty of something) he would probably have been to prison and released by now, ergo this incident would be behind him, his punishment would have been served and he would now be a free man, instead he still has it hanging over his head with his life effectively on hold, can you imagine the pressure and stress he must be under?
Not only that, but as per my previous case, a DOO driver watching the PTI on a monitor can have his hand on "open" ready to avoid a case like this when someone comes running,
Do youknow that to be the case or are you assuming it?
All the time I have been in Voyager cabs (every time legally) I have never seen the driver keep his (or her) fingers on the open buttons 'just in case' anything happens!
