What the piggin’ ‘ell is wrong with our court system?
It seems Network Rail are guilty of not preventing the deaths of two Esssx girls in 2005.
Tragically, these two teenagers were struck by a train and killed when they crossed a rail line in a hurry to catch a train. They ignored mahoosive warning signs, flashing lights and the loud yodelling siren, opened an admittedly unlocked wicket gate and stepped onto the tracks just as a train was doing 70mph on the same piece of steel.
I agree such a waste of youth is a very sad thing, but what next? Barriers along every road in the UK in case someone steps in front of a bus? I know of many crossings where there are no automated barriers, just the warning lights and yodels.
One father who has been fighting for this outcome has said and I quote “It was completely obvious to anyone who spent two minutes looking at it that it was dangerous.” Well not to these two teenagers it seems. Another one from the fellow “People have to be accountable for their actions.” so very true sir. Like the conscious decision to cross a rail line when the warning signs and klaxxons tell you not to.
OK, there had been a safety review and recommendations to install a footbridge and barriers at this site. Companys have a budget and priorities must be assigned. NR made a bad call and I am sure were every bit as sad about the accident as everyone else. I’ll wager the train driver still has nightmares about it. Surely a fair slice of the blame has to fall upon the irresponsible actions of the two girls? I know they paid a terrible price but accountability is a two way street surely. I live near the coast where high cliffs go down to the sea, ask Ricks Rants he stayed there. There is a footpath all along the top, on the seaward side there is a simple metal railing. It is ever so easy to step over or under that and be on the edge, some folk do. Some even drive straight off at high speed with little or no consideration for anyone who may be on the sands below. Are we now to expect a flood of litigation against the council because these people could access such a very high drop and succeeded in killing themselves?
NR have accepted full responsibility for this incident because they realise they have absolutely no chance of proving otherwise in this blame culture society. They will pay the costs and the compensation, they may even go bust as a result. Those costs will of course be passed on to the consumer, along with the now unavoidable cost of ‘Murphy’ proofing every single metre of track in the land
Boadicea's Chariot 
It grips my fur I’ll tell you Bearsy.
No-one thinks they are responsible for what they choose to do anymore.
What happens if the gate is automatically locked at the approach of a train and some idiot climbs over it? I hope NR get only a light slap on the wrist. Warning signs, flashing lights, siren – what more is needed? Yes, it is a sad loss of two young lives, but the girls were responsible for their actions.
The death of these two girls is extremely sad, but I cannot see how NR can be held responsible. If the girls ignored all the warnings, and no is suggesting that the warnings were not complete, then sad to say, it was their fault. I do not suppose , the train driver or passengers on the train were overjoyed by it, either.
The real people to blame for the whole sad business, given that NR had taken every precaution and the girls were responsible for their own fate, are the ambulance chasing lawyers. They are the ones who need to be stopped.
Amen FEEG. 🙂
Notice on my local railway station:
Stay off the tracks! Or get a fine, injury or worse!
Nice Boadicea,
I particularly liked this one.
There is a way around this, something that the motherland of responsibility-free thinking and recklessness, California, has already embraced for the sake of remaining at least partially functional. That is, to remove liability for injury in such places as rail way tracks, the middle of public roads, and other places where no sane person should be. Since the UK seems hell-bent on following California’s march to doom it might also be well advised to look into ways to at least keep the country partially open on the way.
It is an unfortunate fact that railways are favourite places for suicides – which tends to confirm that access is all to easy and there’s little to be done about it.
Ferret yes I remember that drop down to the sea, similar ones at Folkestone right round to Dover.
It is high time these idiot judges started living in the real world, people must take some sort of responsibility for their own actions.
What next… every passenger must have a guide with them before they can travel, someone must walk in front of a car waving a red flag (like to see them do that with me behind the wheel).
The world has lost it completely.
Look on the bright side of this, they have removed themselves from the food chain. Hopefully before breeding.
I used to have my own private railway crossing to one home in Carmarthenshire. Two gates, no warnings no lights, it was a matter of getting out of the car, opening one gate, crossing the track, opening the other, going back to the car, driving across, and then reversing the operation. Had to do it each time because of sheep getting on the line. Total pain in the arse especially in the rain. It was an active railway line ‘The Heart of Wales’ line. No guests were ever mangled!
It had the advantage of deterring all salesmen, canvassers, religious proselytisers in fact everybody not invited! Bloody splendid place!
there are hundreds of crossings like this in Wales.
Oh dear, and how very sad for the girls and their families, but it was an accident, they do happen, but not apparently today.
It would seem that these days someone is always to blame. Not so, in my opinion. Absolutely agree that it is not the fault of NR, or even their parents.
This sort of litigation helps no one, and it is entirely the responsibility of the girls, and no one else. They made a mistake and they paid.
I suppose it may help the parents to attribute blame to NR rather than their daughters, but I cannot see how this really can be of comfort.
Sad reflection on society, but one cannot legislate for the odd fatal mistake, in my opinion.
There are a lot of suicides on Cape Town’s rail system. The authority takes the Jeremy Clarkson approach and train delays are kept to a minimum when such incidents occur.
Ara, yes, sad for the families, but really, those girls were worthy of the Darwin Award.
There is a little more to this story then Ferret’s BBC link provides.
If I’m reading The Mail’s report correctly, the girls did indeed heed the warnings and waited for the London to Cambridge train to pass, once it had passed they opened the gate and attempted to cross, even though the warnings were still on! I would think that we’ve all perhaps anticipated the end of an event and after a long wait want to get on with our journey, the problem is that the warnings were sounding for a very good reason, there was another train coming from the opposite direction! (Birmingham to Stansted.)
They were 14 and 13 years old, still children. A tragic series of events and yes on busy lines such as this one NR should look at ways to improve safety.
Sorry Soutie that doesn’t wash.
Whether a train had passed or not, the rule is perfectly clear. If the warning signals are on there is a train coming do not cross. End of.
Even when there are no signals the intelligent person crosses smartly and with extreme care, it’s a train line for crying out loud.
And just for the record, the Beeb link I provided says exactly that to which you alude. They watched one train pass but were too impatient to wait and see if there was another one, even though the warning signs were in full effect.
Thanks Furry.
Must admit, I didn’t read the BBC report that thoroughly (obviously :()
Fortunately my children are a bit older than these two but I can understand how children this age make these type of mistakes.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that the girls are not at fault, just that these sort of things happen and unfortunately sometimes (as in this case) with tragic results.
Okay, me again.
I’ve now read the BBC report quite thoroughly and can’t see where they mention that they waited for the first to pass and were hit by a second.
Oops guys, me this time.
Click on the first related story link at the base of the report and it is all there.
“Guilty Plea over rail death girls.”
My fault it was not in the main link. Bad furry mustelid. 😦
If these children were not considered savvy enough to understand the danger (which was drummed into me as soon as I could possibly understand) then surely they should not have been allowed out unsupervised. I still fail to see how this is the failing of the rail network in any way.