On 10/11/2013 20:04, alan wrote:
On 05/11/2013 18:01, bert wrote:

Like the idiots around here who ignore them on level crossings.

But is it as a result of poorly though out safety measures?

I've been stuck at a level crossing for five minutes BEFORE any sign of
a train. If this is common is it any wonder why people think they have a
large margin of safety when jumping lights.

I don't know if it is still the case, but there used to be a requirement
for the barriers to lower when a train reached a point that was 45
seconds away for the fastest train on the line. So if the crossing is on
an express line, but the local stopping train has just set off from a
nearby station, the wait can be a lot longer.

Around my way the council have changed all predestrain crossing lights
times to give a pedestrian what seem half an hour to cross the road and
they have introduced left and right filter lights on all cross road etc.

The result is that there are no longer gaps in traffic for people
attempting to cross other than at a official crossing and many drivers
running the red light in order not to be stuck at a junction for a long
period.

And I bet they run the entire sequence, filters, pedestrian phases, etc.
even when there is one vehicle there in the middle of the night!

SteveW