Doing level best to give warnings
Anti-phones distraction at railway crossings
Technology designed to stop people being distracted by their mobile phones while using level crossings is to be installed in Stirling area.
Both level crossings at Cornton are to benefit from the equipment which uses phone signals to warn members of the public to stay aware when near the railway.
They are among 10 “high risk” level crossing in Scotland to be equipped with the devices to help tackle the issue of distraction.
Network Rail say there have been five instances of “misuse” of the crossing in the last three years – the highest number in Scotland.
The new system will be used to send alerts to mobile phones near the targeted level crossing warning the user to put their phone away before crossing the line.
Network Rail data shows young people are more likely both to have a near miss at a level crossing during the summer and to be distracted when crossing¹.
During August and September, when nights are longer and schools on holiday, the number of near misses at level crossings rises significantly.
Figures also reveal that over two thirds of near misses are due to distraction with the top three distractions at level crossings highlighted as friends (40 per cent), headphones (20 per cent) and mobile phones (12 per cent).
Almost a third of young adults admit to using their mobile phone while crossing the railway, according to a Populous Phone smart survey of 2000 young people in October last year.
Network Rail say in the last five years there have been more than 2000 incidents on level crossings involving young people.
One of the reasons the company has chosen to install the technology to the Cornton crossings are their proximity to Cornton Primary School.
Head of public and passenger safety at Network Rail Allan Spence said: “Many people are aware of the issue of distraction for drivers, but it is very worrying that so many young adults admit to putting themselves at unnecessary risk by getting distracted when crossing the railway.
“We are investing more than £100m to improve level crossing safety across Britain as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan, but we also need everyone who uses level crossings to do their bit too.
“By paying attention to the warnings at level crossings and avoiding distractions, we can all keep ourselves out of harm’s way.”
News of the investment comes a week after Network Rail scrapped plans to close the Cornton Road crossing and replace it with a road bridge and footbridge.
They said the £20 million cost of the change was too much and instead are to install a full barrier system at the crossing plus additional technology at a cost of between £6 million and £9 million .