Level crossings in West Lancashire have been targeted in a hard hitting safety campaign

Jul 2 2009 by Nick Moreton, Ormskirk Advertiser

WEST Lancashire has been targeted in a hard hitting level crossing safety campaign being driven across Europe.

Network Rail’s community safety team targeted stations on the Southport to Wigan and Preston to Ormskirk lines because misuse of level crossings on them poses a serious risk of a major incident happening.

Leaflets spelling out the chilling truth that taking a chance at a level crossing might be the last thing you do, and posing the question “Would it kill you to wait?”, were handed out to pedestrians and drivers throughout the day.

The most recent figures, from April and May this year, show 38 incidents recorded at the Parkers Lane crossing alone.

Other hotspots included the Canal Bridge crossing, where 20 incidents were recorded, and the Club Lane crossing, where 17 incidents were recorded.

Area general manager Karen Hornby said:

“Many of the level crossings have to be opened and closed by the road user, and while this is perfectly safe, there is a tendency to leave the gates open.

“This means any vehicles later may assume it is safe to cross simply because the gates are open, when a train could be bearing down on them.”