New TollNZ Campaign - Level Crossing Safety

[McJim]

Just seen we are going to get some "Hard Hitting" Adverts about level crossings.

I had never ever seen a level crossing until I came to New Zealand.

We have a couple of revolutionary inventions in the UK - one is called a bridge and the other is called an underpass.

How many bridges/underpasses could be built for the cost of the campaign?

What monetary value should we be placing on lives? I'm sure that out of the 3000 or so level crossings there are probably only 50 that are busy enough and with poor visibility that could do with a bridge or underpass.

Build bridges NZ gubbermint! PLEASE STOP THE CARNAGE!

[sAsLEX]

I have seen level crossings in the UK. You mustn't of travelled much.

[McJim]

That's England though - I never went there ('cept London - which doesn't count since they don't speak english there any more)

[Indiana_Jones]

Level crossings work fine in theory if people did what the fucking lights are telling them lol

-Indy

[Waylander]

Level crossings work fine in theory if people did what the fucking lights are telling them lol

-Indy

And assuming the lights work.

Another funny thing about the level crossings here. Why do they not have arm barriers on them? They have them at toll booths and such but no such luck for most train crossings.
Shows where their priorities lay I guess..

[Winter]

Level crossings work fine in theory if people did what the fucking lights are telling them lol

-Indy

Except when the power goes out and half of Auckland sits around trapped in their cages because the barrier arms are all down.

[Waylander]

Except when the power goes out and half of Auckland sits around trapped in their cages because the barrier arms are all down.

Better than getting run over by the fucking train they don't know is coming.

[Steam]

How many bridges/underpasses could be built for the cost of the campaign?

Honestly, probably about three. And I'm not joking. Bridges and underpasses are not cheap things.

[Steam]

There are 1400 public level crossings on the rail network, and about ten thousand private ones, (driveways) so there's just no way they can tackle that problem. The problem isn't the safety of level crossings, it's that people are fucking stupid and don't see the trains.

Look at it this way, if they didn't see the train, they DEFINITELY wouldn't have seen you on your motorbike. Therefore they deserve to die.

After some blind dick hits a train he DOES NOT give a wave and say "Sorry mate, didn't see ya."
He kind of just gurgles.

[Indiana_Jones]

And assuming the lights work.

Assuming they work.

You could say the same about anything.

The plane is gonna fly, asuming the engines work.

your gonna live asuming your heart works lol

-Indy

[Waylander]

Assuming they work.

You could say the same about anything.

The plane is gonna fly, asuming the engines work.

your gonna live asuming your heart works lol

-Indy

It's the risks that make life interesting.

[Indiana_Jones]

It's the risks that make life interesting.

Exactly

-Indy

[scumdog]

The train can't swerve/stop quickly and you know it ALWAYS will be on the rails - nowhere else.

So how hard IS it to spot one near enough to hit you when you're on a crossing??

You only have les than a second of a 'window of opportunity' for it to hit (although you may have a minute or more for YOU to hit it).

[sAsLEX]

Better than getting run over by the fucking train they don't know is coming.

Their eyes not work?

[kro]

How many bridges/underpasses could be built for the cost of the campaign?

To answer this question, Sod all. They cost an arm an a leg to build, and take ages at that. Any tunnel under a railway is built to many times the spec's of a road traffic underpass.

At the risk of receiving barrells of red rep, I lived in an area for 7 years, that I had to travel over two level crossings daily, with signs only, and trains frequently mimicing my timetable, and never once did I come anywhere near getting smacked by a train. A train is big, noisy, and imo, freakin hard to miss in any situation.

The fatality a few months ago involved speed and recklessness, I was aquainted with Ryan Jamieson, and he was a young and impetuous, and messed up royally.

This latest one is probably little more than the result of the same impatience that we see on the "give way" sign adverts on TV, with people being rush rush, and getting t-boned.

Whether there are bells, arms, or just a sign there, I don't see any excuse for a car being hit by a train unless the driver is :
Blind
Stupid
Drunk

Now we know there are a lot of stupid car drivers out there, and the article on Ryans death had the local train specialist guy saying that motorists would often drive around the arm barriers, or race trians, or play chicken with them......... this is raw stupidity, and if we start spending tax payer money on fixing it, then we too are idiots sorry.