Ten seconds that changed everything
TEN seconds of inattention will cost Andrew Girdlestone for the rest of his life.
The 27-year-old Wellington man still suffers from the effects of being hit by a train at a level crossing 12 years ago.
On October 16, 2003, when he was a 16-year-old Hutt International Boys’ School student, Girdlestone was waiting on his bike at a level crossing between the tracks at Silverstream station.
He can’t remember what happened, but has pieced together that, soon after a northbound train passed safely behind him, his bike was swiped by a southbound train.
‘‘I was either out too far on the crossing or just went to move. It wasn’t dark or anything. I still have no memory of any of it . . . that’s probably for the best.
‘‘The result of my 10 seconds of inattention is going to live with me for the rest of my life.’’
That is why he is supporting this week’s Rail Safety Week. The nationwide safety campaign, urging people to ‘‘Expect Trains’’, was launched by Transport Minister Simon Bridges at Wellington railway station yesterday.
It aims to heighten awareness among motorists and pedestrians at level crossings, with the message that people should expect trains at any time and from either direction.
Girdlestone was left with a broken eye socket, grazed knees and a severe brain injury that led to him becoming the first New Zealander to take part in an international trial of decompressive craniectomy – an operation to remove the front section of the skull to give the brain room to swell.
‘‘I just looked like I had been running around on the rugby field, but the head injury was massive,’’ he said.
Twelve years on, he still suffers from fatigue, double vision and cannot work in a fulltime job.
‘‘Double vision at least makes your wallet look good,’’ he joked, while explaining that finding the humour in the situation was important. ‘‘You’ve got to do it. It happened, I have to move on.’’
Rail Safety Week is a joint initiative between TrackSafe, the NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport, Transdev Auckland, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Tranz Metro and police.
TrackSafe manager Megan Drayton said research had shown that people were unable to accurately judge the speed and distance of an oncoming train and often perceived them to be travelling more slowly than they were.
‘‘When people see a railway level crossing sign, they must slow down and be prepared to stop. Look up and down both ways and only cross when there are no trains coming from either direction.’’
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said that every year people died in preventable accidents on railway tracks.
Collisions and near misses cause severe and lasting trauma for victims, their families, emergency services personnel and witnesses, and train drivers and rail staff, he said.
NZTA has also launched a special campaign targeting rural level crossings to try to stop local drivers being complacent about safety. ‘‘We want to get local drivers off autopilot when they approach railway tracks and to accept that crossing railway tracks safely means giving it their full attention,’’ NZTA chief executive Geoff Dangerfield said.