Regional motorists are being urged to obey the rules and stay safe around level crossings, after joint enforcement in regional areas resulted in 80 driver fines for ignoring signals about approaching trains and for speeding.
The Minns Labor Government is committed to lowering road fatalities toward zero, and part of that includes making level crossing safer for everyone.
It is investing $7.3 million a year through the Level Crossing Improvement Program to accelerate upgrades of priority public level crossings and through level crossing safety education and enforcement campaigns.
The safety message comes as Rail Safety Week begins, a reminder to be safe on and around the rail network. Rail Safety Week will be marked across NSW with events focused on Werris Creek and is strongly supported by the Minns Labor Government.
During a recent ten-day Level Crossing Awareness and Enforcement campaign in the Liverpool Plains area, NSW Police detected 55 offences at level crossings in Nea, Curlewis, Caroona and Gunnedah including 26 level crossing offences and 26 speeding offences.
Police penalized a further 35 motorists at four level crossings in the Riverina around Junee and Marrar, detecting 26 level crossing offences and six speeding offences.
There were five collisions between trains and road vehicles at level crossings in NSW last financial year including the single fatal collision at the Twigg Road Yenda level crossing last September. There were also 74 near hits between trains and road vehicles at level crossings in NSW.
Across in the past 10 years there have been 69 collisions between trains and vehicles at NSW's 1,307 public road level crossings, resulting in 9 deaths and 9 serious injuries. Some 64 of those crashes occurred in regional NSW.
Every year, the NSW Police Force and Transport for NSW run localised awareness and enforcement campaigns to enforce the rules at level crossings using highly visible police enforcement.
Motorists who gamble with their safety at level crossings face three demerit points and a $562 fine.
Trains can travel at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour and can take up to 1.4 kilometres, or 14 football fields, to come to a complete stop. Even if a train driver sees you, they can't stop in time.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley said:
"On long drives, especially on our regional roads, it's easy to slip into autopilot but if you miss a warning sign, you could be missing the chance to save your own life.
"If you're not responding to the signs at level crossings, you're not paying enough attention to drive on our roads and that makes you a danger to yourself and everyone else.
"Level crossing safety comes down to one thing - paying attention. Whether you've been behind the wheel for five minutes or five hours, you can't afford to switch off."
Minister for Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison said:
"Closed gates and flashing lights at level crossings mean that a train is approaching and motorists who choose to ignore these signals are putting themselves, their passengers, pedestrians, as well as train passengers and drivers at risk.
"With more than 30 trains a day passing through some level crossings, it's extremely important for motorists to be patient and obey the signs, flashing lights, boom gates and road markings.
"Ignoring them can and sadly has resulted in avoidable tragedy.
"It can only take a few seconds for a fatal collision to happen.
"Even if the train driver sees you, they often cannot stop in time.
"It's concerning that so many motorists are speeding on approach to and across level crossings and committing offences despite the presence of clearly marked Highway Patrol vehicles at the level crossings.
"Safety is our top priority, but we all need to look out for each other to ensure everyone reaches their destination safely."
NSW Police Acting Superintendent Ben Macfarlane said:
"These results are indicative of the complacency around Level Crossings. It is clear that drivers are still ignoring warnings, speed limits and signage.
"Trains can come from any direction, at any time and some trains can take more than a kilometre to come to a complete stop.
"Disobeying level crossing warning signs and lights can lead to crashes between vehicle and trains where the consequences can be deadly. Drivers need to take personal responsibility when around level crossing to ensure the path is clear."
