Life on the level

Bertie Wooster once called his Aunt Agatha’s reaction to bad news as being like that of one who, picking daisies on the railway, has just caught the down express in the small of the back. This unlikely simile is now only too close to the behaviour of many a Briton let loose on a level crossing. Selfies, wheelies, last-minute dashes and generally gormless behaviour fill video clips with which Network Rail publicises the wrong way to negotiate these useful features. Britain still has about 6,000, but 1,000 have been closed in the past seven years. Must everyone be infantilised because a few risk their lives crossing the line? What next – will crossing the road be outlawed? Will rivers be fenced off lest we tumble in and the sea forbidden to bathers for fear of quicksands and jelly-fish? Level crossings are fun but dangerous, just like life.