Gerogery Level Crossing Accident - Inquest

Inquest

The inquest into the Gerogery level crossing deaths necessarily canvassed a wide variety of issues in road and rail transport. The inquest also examined questions of driver behaviour, notably the common belief that level crossing crashes can often be caused by drivers seeking to "beat the train" and not be delayed in their journey by stopping for a train to pass over the level crossing. Indeed, during the coronial inquiry, evidence given by one train passenger suggested the teenagers had been racing to beat the train through the crossing.

This testimony was strenuously refuted by the families of the boys. At the Coronial Inquest, Coroner Mr Carl Milovanovich said of the allegation:

In my view there is certainly one hypothesis that can be discounted immediately,and that is a suggestion that the boys were attempting to race the train. The fact that this version of events received so much publicity, and by innuendo given unwarranted credibility, was most unfortunate and most distressing for the families of the deceased. I wish to make it very clear to the family and to the media who will no doubt report this matter, that I, as coroner, have categorically rejected any suggestion that the boys were attempting to race the train.

Rather, the design of the level crossing itself was seen as contributing to the deaths of the five young men. In summing up, Mr Milovanovich stated:

The acute angle of the curve from a 100kmh area leaves little room for braking if the bells or lights are not seen or heard or for a person who may not be familiar with that section of the road.

The coroner went on to say:

The real tragedy in this matter is not whether the driver made an error of judgement, but that in this day and age when we all strive to reap the benefits of new technology, such as computers, advances in medicine, trains that travel at 160kmh and even faster, we still have a 19th-century approach to level crossings on the basis that they are traversed by horse and cart.

Since 2001 there has been significant reform to the management of railway level crossings, not only in New South Wales but nationally across Australia. The STAYSAFE Committee of New South Wales Parliament has held two further inquiries, and the Parliament of Australia and the Parliament of Victoria have also conducted parliamentary committee investigations into railway level crossing safety.

The CRC for Rail Innovation is conducting a number of research projects into railway level crossing design, management, and technology. There is also a research program underway to improve driver and other road user behaviour safety at railway level crossings. The CRC for Rail Innovation is a collaborative venture between leading organisations in the Australian rail industry and Australian Universities and is supported by the Commonwealth Government. It is planned that the CRC for Rail Innovation will invest around A$100m in rail industry research over the 2007-2013 period. This makes it the single biggest research program in the history of Australian railways.