Safety above all else

THERE are some things in life that have become so commonplace that we take them for granted.

For instance, we take it as given that the sun will rise each morning, that the car will start, and that a green traffic light is a signal to go.

And we assume that if the boom gates are up at a railway crossing, it means it is safe for us to cross.

Unfortunately, as motorists in North Geelong discovered last week, this isn’t always the case.

Authorities have confirmed that the boom gates at the railway crossing on Thompson Rd failed to lower when a train passed through earlier this month.

They are blaming signal upgrades on that section of railway line, saying the works meant the gates failed to detect the freight train passing through.

Since then, that crossing — as well as the nearby one on Douro St and at Anakie Rd in Bell Post Hill — have been manned by attendants with stop signs to ensure motorists don’t drive through a crossing while a train is passing by.

We can’t tell you how many people are performing this task, or even how many hours the crossings are being manned each day because VicTrack — the organisation that manages the infrastructure — would not provide the information. Nor would VicTrack tell us what time of day the original incident of the failed boom gates took place.

While it is fortunate that no cars or pedestrians were in the vicinity when the boom gates failed to lower, surely the first thing to be considered during any upgrades on a rail line is ensuring the safety of others.

How could something so fundamental fail so completely? How many of us coming across raised boom gates would simply assume it was safe to pass?

Of course things go wrong during any major overhaul. But when such a high level of public safety is at stake, it’s vital that potential problems are identified and acted on early — not as an afterthought after we’ve already endured a close call.