General News
11 December, 2024
'Trains can't swerve': Pacific National's passionate plea to country drivers
A recent near miss between a train and a truck prompts a warning.
Train drivers are asking motorists to remain vigilant even on the quietest of back roads after several near misses in recent months.
The news comes after a near-miss near Murtoa and Lubeck on December 5, when an oncoming train and a truck avoided catastrophe by mere meters.
Pacific National's Dimboola depot supervisor Hayden Eldridge said train drivers have witnessed too many close calls as trucks and cars cross the railway lines in an attempt to save a few seconds.
"We want to remind truck drivers during this harvest season not to be complacent when it comes to level crossings," he said.
"Farmers, truck drivers and motorists need to be vigilant at this time of the year. Trains can't swerve out of the way of a slow-moving truck.
"When we put on the brakes, it can take up to two kilometres to come to a complete stop."
The warning comes after a near miss on November 22, when a truck crossed from the Western Highway over a level crossing onto a dirt track.
"In this situation, all the driver could do was apply the emergency brake move to the back of the cabin," Mr Eldridge said.
"They didn't jump off the train, but they moved to the vestibule because they were concerned that there was going to be an impact."
Fortunately, there was no impact, but the chain of events left the drivers shaken, and new drivers replaced them to finish the route.
"That inconvenience is nothing compared to the welfare that we have concerned with for those drivers," Mr Eldridge said.
"The last thing we want to do is have an interaction with a vehicle and injure or potentially kill a member of the local community."
Mr Eldridge said vigilance was vital on the smaller, back road rail crossing, which doesn't have any safety warnings a major intersection would have.