Err no. It is considerably less safe for the Driver to be in charge of door release. Where a Guard is in charge of door release there are safety requirements to ensure that the train is correctly platformed prior to releasing all passenger doors. This mitigates against a Driver stopping short, for example. Where the Driver releases doors there are generally no safeguards beyond their initial judgement immediately after bringing the train to a stand. Conversations with experienced DOO Drivers will almost always reveal that door incidents are very common indeed, the usual ones being stop shorts, wrong side door releases, and surprisingly even releasing doors when coming to a stand other than in a station (at a red signal usually). There are also the increased risks of SPAD incidents occuring on departure from stations because the Driver is concentrating on what the passengers are doing, as well as the obvious increase in the risk of platform incidents due to nobody observing the train safely leave the station. Some of these things occur frequently, often unreported, and they happen simply because it is not ideal for a Driver to have a constant, non-stop stream of safety critical tasks without a moment's relent for several hours. A station stop is a few moments for a Driver to pause from their intense concentration, gather their thoughts and prepare for the next leg of their journey. In an age of intense scrutiny of what is best and safest practice for train Drivers, it goes well and truly against every principle to be increasing the workload on these people by such a substantial degree, and as DOO spreads so the level of door incidents will go up considerably, along of course with assaults on staff and antisocial behaviour in general. And, to again clarify the point, no this bright new era will not come with the consolation of cheaper ticket prices!
Is it I seem to recall an HST an coming into Doncaster once but was held at the midplatform signal, the doors were released despite the train not being fully on the platform, the signal then changed and the driver unaware that the doors were open started to move down the platform at which point a member of the platform staff rushed over to the cab to get the driver to stop.
Oh and talking to friend the other day he was telling about his railway driver friend who apparently a few weeks ago managed to set off without his guard, after he thought he herd the buzzers for departure, obviously Im not going to say what TOC he works for or where it happened.
If DOO can be proved to be substancially unsafe compared to having a guard and cannot be improved by better views of the platform, icreasing use of ATO on the lines that are suitable for it etc then you might have a point
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I note that since you posted this, it has all gone silent. A lot of what goes on on DOO routes is often covered up (unless its a serious incident) most of the wrong side door openings initially on LOROL were caused by the fact that drivers were operating on a semi DOO mode and automatically pressed the door release button at a AC?DC changeover point hence why the stopping of trains at these locations ceased about a year before the line went completely DOO.
It really gets my goat when someone says why should I pay more tax to keep an inefficient railway operating, who are you to suggest that a system that works is inefficient ? I bet if it was your job that is up for grabs I am sure you would say 'yes boss it is, when would you like me to leave'........... N O T ! You would argue the point about how valued a person you are to the business and without you the business would not be as successful as it is.
Please feel free to let us all know what you all do, then I can say whether your required or not as like the rest of you I ALSO PAY TAX!
Right I stand by comment why should I as a Taxpayer pay for an inefficient railway?
It is not me making decisions about Railway safety but the HSE, although I suspect the Rail Unions would prefer to make all the decisions about rail safety.
I was made redundant last year when the company I work for decided to outsource IT, my job is now done remotely by people in the Czech Republic.
No I wasn't happy about it, buts that's frequently the reality in the real world, unlike the railways which appears to be the last bastion of union power.
And at the end of the day safety in all industries is usually a balance between Risk and Cost, and sometimes political expediency
