Level crossing near misses and risk-taking caught on camera

Video of dangerous incidents at level crossings has been released as part of a summer safety campaign.

In June, a girl was filmed running across a crossing in Fishbourne, West Sussex, just a couples of metres in front of an advancing train.

Recent CCTV footage also showed people hanging from rising crossing barriers in Chertsey, Surrey; rushing cyclists colliding in Hounslow, London; and a car swerving to avoid closing barriers in Bramley, Hampshire.

Network Rail, which released the video, said July was a peak time for incidents.

Sam Pead, a regional level crossing manager, said: “It’s frustrating we continue to see people recklessly risking their lives when crossing the railway.

“Across the Southern region, trains can travel as fast as 140mph (225km/h) and are largely powered by the third rail which carries more than enough electricity to kill or seriously injure and is always on.”

Farnham in Surrey and Star Lane in Wokingham, Berkshire, were the most abused level crossings in the Wessex region last year, Network Rail said.

Addlestone and Ash in Surrey and Poole High Street in Dorset also recorded more than one incident per month.

In Chertsey, the CCTV film showed a truck tearing off a barrier in the driver’s effort to escape the tracks.

Incidents involving poorly trained or uncontrolled dogs were a post-Covid trend, Network Rail said.

Clappers Lane in Ferring, West Sussex, recorded near misses involving a dog walker and a cyclist.

Another dog walker ignored a stop sign at Ashtead Common, Surrey, and a dog was also filmed waiting alone on the track at the same location.

The firm reported 28 near misses in the Wessex region in the 2023-24 financial year, which was 13% fewer than the year before.

However, incidents of level crossing misuse in the region rose by 24% to 466.