Police at level crossings

[transportphoto]

Hi BBC news has just said that police are at level crossings in the Southampton area to try and catch level crossing offenders.

I am on my phone and have to go out so can't stay to see the full report, has anyone got any more details?

Is it BTP or local force?

TIA

 

[syorksdeano]

It was BTP in a van kitted out with CCTV. The reporter did say at around 5 to 9 that since they have been with the police all morning and 9 people have gone through the level crossing when the lights were on.

 

[Oracle]

Presumably that's Mount Pleasant LC? I doubt whether the one in St Denys on the Fareham line sees enough traffic to warrant a blitz. That said, BTP would be having a field day at Totton's Junction Road LC...

I have no idea about Brockenhurst, and cannot say that I have ever seen anyone go over on reds there before.

 

[Lawman]

When an incident occurs at a LC BTP will often attend at this locus and monitor persons/motorists behaviour re offences.There main objective is public saftey re Crossings however if offences are observed then persons will be reported for that offence.

Civi police are made aware of incidents at LC however Btp are contacted in the first instance.More often that not civi police will be the first unit to attend.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This is part of a new national crackdown on crossing abuse.

Good.

 

[Scotrail84]

They want to get themselves out to Kingknowe and Kirknewton LC's. One even has a camera fitted but doesnt always deter people.

 

[142094]

What is the highest fine for driving/walking across as LC when the warning lights are showing? Perhaps this should be doubled and some of the money used to invest in the railways.

 

[BestWestern]

Bravo, I remember being stuck on the So'ton side of Mount Pleasant once becuase some burk had wallopped the descending barriers in a big van as they screamed through at the last minute, sirry irriots...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

What is the highest fine for driving/walking across as LC when the warning lights are showing? Perhaps this should be doubled and some of the money used to invest in the railways.

From what I've heard and read it isn't a huge amount In the case of motorists I think the courts prefer the punishment to be more directed toward a persons' licence, ie points or ban etc. As for a pedestrian I'm not sure what the offence actually is, not trespass presumably, maybe obstructing or endangering a train or something similar?

 

[142094]

From what I've heard and read it isn't a huge amount In the case of motorists I think the courts prefer the punishment to be more directed toward a persons' licence, ie points or ban etc.

Judging by the amount of people that drive around whilst banned (or without a driving license to start with), should be a large fine instead. Either that or just crush the car.

 

[Greeny]

It should be a jail term - I've been involved in cars hit by trains on crossings and have seen the damage it does to all involved when a road driver thinks he can beat a train at a crossing.

G

 

[GNER 91128]

They now occassionaly have a police presence at Helpston crossing now after a number of incidents in the last couple of years.
I think it's a good thing to have police sitting at level crossing as deterrant but also in the hope of catching a chancer or two.

 

[fgwrich]

Presumably that's Mount Pleasant LC? I doubt whether the one in St Denys on the Fareham line sees enough traffic to warrant a blitz. That said, BTP would be having a field day at Totton's Junction Road LC...

I have no idea about Brockenhurst, and cannot say that I have ever seen anyone go over on reds there before.

Correct - BBC South Today had it covered in there 1:30 news bulletin - Mount Pleasant LC is where the Network Rail / BTP van is for today...

Annoyingly, it doesn’t seem to appear on the BBC's website just yet – possibly as it was a Live / Recorded mix…

 

[wintonian]

Here you go: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12401422

And from the Echo: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8842387.Near_misses_at_level_crossings_soar/

ANPR cameras apparently.

 

[fgwrich]

Here you go: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12401422

And from the Echo: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8842387.Near_misses_at_level_crossings_soar/

ANPR cameras apparently.

Ah, Cheers for that - The Lunchtime news had Paul Clifton reporting live from Mount Pleasant & thus i ended up looking on South Todays Website...

Yep - The System largley makes use of the ANPR / Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems, widely used by all UK Police Forces.

 

[CosherB]

It's no good taking bleedin' pictures of the offending cars - the real baddies who do this are driving unregistered cars, are unlicenced, and therefore untracable through their number plate.

Police need to apprehend them then and there. Chances are they will will find they are guilty of more than the crossing offence.

 

[TDK]

It's no good taking bleedin' pictures of the offending cars - the real baddies who do this are driving unregistered cars, are unlicenced, and therefore untracable through their number plate.

Police need to apprehend them then and there. Chances are they will will find they are guilty of more than the crossing offence.

You will find statistically that most crossing abuse is by locals who are fully legal drivers

 

[Oracle]

Totton LC once: red lights flash, three cars stop, loonie (probably un-in everything) overtakes on double white centre lines, passes the stopped vehicles and runs through. You just could not make it up!

 

[Oracle]

This shot was taken around 12th March 2008 at the manual crossing at Marchwood, on the Fawley branch. The driver of HX03VAX just could not wait for the bobbie to open the gates and just drove through!

This shot was published in RAIL..and Mr Editor you did not credit me!

 

[jopsuk]

covered today by the Cambridge News too- though at that particular crossing the only truly dangerous incidents are those like the lorry that crashed through already-closed barriers, as the crossing is controlled from the adjacent box and hence (as I understand it) surely the signals will not clear unless the crossing is clear?

The dangers come at Automatic Half Barrier and User-Worked crossings

 

[andyfrommk]

It's no good taking bleedin' pictures of the offending cars - the real baddies who do this are driving unregistered cars, are unlicenced, and therefore untracable through their number plate.

ANPR works by having a team scanning the plates of cars and radioing a second team further up the road when a vehicle needs pulling i.e no tax, no MOT or declared SORN.
Combining this with catching level crossing dodgers is brilliant thinking

 

[ralphchadkirk]

ANPR works by having a team scanning the plates of cars and radioing a second team further up the road when a vehicle needs pulling i.e no tax, no MOT or declared SORN.
Combining this with catching level crossing dodgers is brilliant thinking

That's using ANPR to catch someone. ANPR just recognises the plate, and can bring up associated information - insurance, owner and other markers.

 

[andyfrommk]

That's using ANPR to catch someone. ANPR just recognises the plate, and can bring up associated information - insurance, owner and other markers.

Oops, Yes, well spotted.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Disregard for red lights in general seems a big problem these days on the roads. I nearly got hit by a bus last week having started to step out onto a pedestrian crossing after the green man came on when the bus came flying past at some speed (very fast considering it's a 30mph limit, there is a pretty nasty give way junction coming in from the side, and a humped back bridge with another set of lights beyond it (which often catches people out when they fly over the bridge to see the que at the lights) a few yards further down the road. Combine that with the numbers who will start moving on red & amber these days, and I'm surprised there are not more accidents.

 

[tempests1]

Presumably that's Mount Pleasant LC? I doubt whether the one in St Denys on the Fareham line sees enough traffic to warrant a blitz. That said, BTP would be having a field day at Totton's Junction Road LC...

I have no idea about Brockenhurst, and cannot say that I have ever seen anyone go over on reds there before.

It was Mount Pleasant as BBC South Today did a piece on it last night

 

[CosherB]

covered today by the Cambridge News

Among the incidents is the sewage tanker driver who smashed his vehicle into the gates last April to avoid a red light, causing a train full of passengers to screech to a halt.

Trucker John McDonald admitted failing to comply with a traffic signal, had three penalty points put on his licence and was fined £170, plus £45 costs.

And as long as they get paltry punishments like this it will continue. He should have been banned, fined heavily, and made to pay for repair of the damamge to the gates at least.

 

[merlodlliw]

and the Welsh angle http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12405989

collisions down, interesting.

 

[wintonian]

And an interesting one from a few days ago with the RMT and relatives of those who have lost their lives on level crossings calling for them to be scrapped.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7862792.stm

 

[Tomnick]

A few days ago? A couple of years ago! The RMT appear to have seen sense since then - turkeys voting for Christmas? Many, many signalboxes, I'd suggest, remain open purely because of an adjacent level crossing - in most cases, there'd still be sufficient capacity on the route if they were closed (taking the fairly closely spaced boxes of Tutbury, Scropton, Sudbury and Uttoxeter as an example - if the middle two were closed, I doubt there'd be any effect on capacity overall as the sections either side are longer). Add to that the numerous non-block crossing 'boxes, and you've got a fair number of RMT members out of a job.

After all that, I'm struggling to think of many level crossing accidents that occurred as a result of anything other than deliberate misuse, and can name a few accidents involving bridges to balance those out.

 

[wintonian]

Oop's quite right I misread the date.

 

[GB]

RE 2009 BBC article.

Seems as though its just relatives trying to blame the railway for what happened, of course none of the "victims" could have been doing anything wrong:roll: