Terrifying rail-miss as driver crosses the line without looking
A motorist in Ballymote, Co Sligo, narrowly escapes being crushed to death by a train
Thursday June 25 2009
THESE are the terrifying images of a near-disaster when a train travelling at speed almost struck a car at a level crossing
There have been a total of 20 similar near-misses so far this year where motorists have failed to check for trains travelling along the line. And Iarnrod Eireann yesterday revealed there was a staggering 56 near misses in 2008.
As a result, the company has installed CCTV at user operated level crossings across the network.
Today is European Level Crossing Awareness Day and the rail operator said that drivers found to be ignoring safety warnings could cause death or serious injury, and lose their driving licence.
Earlier this month a motorist was banned for two years for not checking the line
Most incidents take place on the Sligo and Mayo lines, with one-in-four near misses so far this year in Sligo. In 1999 there were 2,035 live level crossings on the rail network, but this has since dropped to 1,073.
- Paul Melia
