Aurizon urges community to stay rail safe
Australia's largest rail freight company, Aurizon has is urging the community to stay rail safe as part of national Rail Safety Week, after 131 near misses were recorded across their operations at level crossings in the past 12 months.
Head of Safety Catherine Peppler says Aurizon train drivers continue to experience reckless behaviour at level crossings and in the rail corridor.
"Every near miss is putting the lives of our train drivers and the lives of motorists and pedestrians at risk," Catherine said.
"While most people in the community do the right thing, it's very concerning there are still people who continue to put their lives and the lives of our train drivers at risk.
"We need the community to understand that our train drivers can't simply stop or swerve to miss a vehicle or a person on the tracks. Even when the emergency brakes are applied, our trains can't stop quickly.
"Every near miss can have a real and traumatic impact our train drivers. Every incident can have a devastating outcome for the person involved and our drivers and their families.
"We are urging the community to slow down, stop taking shortcuts and obey the law at level crossings and rail corridors protect your safety and the safety of our people.
Aurizon has produced a Rail Safety animation to help educate the community about level crossing safety, available on YouTube.
Aurizon's call to action comes as part of the national Rail Safety Week - a community awareness week held by rail industry body The TrackSAFE Foundation. TrackSAFE's website hosts a range of rail safety education materials: www.tracksafefoundation.com.au
Pictured: Aurizon train travelling through the Davidson Street level crossing in Oakey, Queensland.
