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#Post#: 11035--------------------------------------------------
Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: Spinstorm
Date: November 23, 2023, 1:37 pm
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Tonight I have encountered a very annoying and unexpected
scenario.
I was waiting in traffic by Addlestone station crossing.
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZCXv6m4EFMbsg3Zc6?g_st=ic
The top of my front windscreen just after the windscreen but
before the sunroof was in line with the barrier.
Maybe 5-10 meters from the track.
The lights changed to red and were flashing and the car in front
of me went through.
I’m not an idiot and didn’t even attempt it but then the barrier
came down on top of me. I was unable to reverse back or prepared
to move forward.
I had a bystander hold the barrier up and the cars behind moved
back so I was able to reverse after they saw this.
This has caused damage to my car. I’ve complained to network
rail.
Any thoughts on if I can get them to pay for car repairs?
It scratched the paint in the area right through to the metal in
a few places. Although the actual area of damage wasn’t massive.
[attachment deleted by admin]
#Post#: 11038--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: tonys
Date: November 23, 2023, 2:59 pm
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Level crossing signals show solid Amber for a few seconds before
the flashing Red start, plenty of time to either stop or clear
the crossing if it's really too late to stop. Unless the barrier
moved out of sequence I don't see a hope in hell.
#Post#: 11041--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: November 23, 2023, 3:36 pm
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If the car in front of the OP went through on red, I struggle to
see how the OP could have gone through on amber.
What the OP has not told us is where his car was when the amber
light was first showing.
#Post#: 11042--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: Spinstorm
Date: November 23, 2023, 3:55 pm
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As far as I’m aware it was off when I was stationary. To be
clear when I was sitting there behind the car in front the
lights were not on. As I was waiting it changed Amber and I had
no where to go. The car in front decided to chance it by driving
through (no doubt worried about the barrier hitting them
although there were still behind the train line safely in my
option).
I was not moving while the lights were on as I was in sat in
stationary traffic.
Could I have stayed behind the white line? Maybe. As the lights
were off when I stopped I didn’t expect to be stuck there when
the barriers came down. Nevertheless surely the barrier should
not lower when a vehicle is there.
This was just a question of bad timing. I do not know if there
is CCTV of the crossing and if it will support my account but
the train didn’t show up for around 4 minutes after the barrier
landed on my car. That to me suggests it was lowered too soon
and maybe even manually lowered by an operator not paying
attention (although I cannot see anywhere a person could be
present looking at Google maps).
#Post#: 11043--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: Daim456
Date: November 23, 2023, 4:21 pm
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That level crossing has CCTV. The operator would check on CCTV
to see if the line is clear of any vehicle or pedestrians before
the secondary barriers are lowered.
From your account you look like you crossed the white line while
in traffic.
Why did you not wait behind the white line until the vehicle in
front of you have cleared the level crossing?
#Post#: 11044--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: DWMB2
Date: November 23, 2023, 4:24 pm
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--- Quote from: Spinstorm link ---
>
> Could I have stayed behind the white line? Maybe.
>
--- End Quote ---
I imagine this is what Network Rail will rely on if challenged -
They'll possibly refer to rule #291 of the Highway Code which
says "Never drive onto a crossing until the road is clear on the
other side", and might argue that driving past the white line is
driving 'onto' the crossing.
#Post#: 11050--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: November 23, 2023, 5:13 pm
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--- Quote from: Spinstorm link ---
>
> This was just a question of bad timing. I do not know if there
is CCTV of the crossing and if it will support my account but
the train didn’t show up for around 4 minutes after the barrier
landed on my car. That to me suggests it was lowered too soon
and maybe even manually lowered by an operator not paying
attention (although I cannot see anywhere a person could be
present looking at Google maps).
>
--- End Quote ---
Ignoring the issue of seemingly excessively early application of
the prohibition on crossing, I would expect the operation of the
barrier to be more concerned with whether a train was
approaching than whether there was a car under the barrier.
Regardless of whether you would have had time to change all 4
wheels and still cross safely before the train got there,
crossing a level crossing against a red light is considered to
be extremely dangerous - because Physics.
If you think that they shouldn't have lowered the barrier while
your car was underneath it, what do you suggest should have
happened - assuming that you could not reverse, should they have
left it up in order for you to cross the level crossing on red,
or left it up while the train was passing in the hope that
neither you nor anyone else would attempt to cross as the
barrier was still in the raised position?
Also, what DWMB2 said.
#Post#: 11051--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: sparx
Date: November 23, 2023, 5:36 pm
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--- Quote ---
> It scratched the paint in the area right through to the metal
in a few places. Although the actual area of damage wasn’t
massive.
--- End Quote ---
That's quite a long scratch considering you didn't move with the
barrier on top of you... Were the white lines all intact, and
not faded to an extent you couldn't see them?
IMO take it on the chin, get it repaired, and don't proceed over
the white lines at level crossings unless your exit is clear and
you can move straight into it. You'd have had far more damage
than that scratch if the train had whacked ya.
That is, if the markings are in the correct place!
#Post#: 11052--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: Spinstorm
Date: November 23, 2023, 5:56 pm
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The reason the scratches are quite long is because the bottom
section of the barrier moves so when it hit my car it moved
sideways causing it.
On the white lines point I accept I should have waited but
honestly I didn’t expect to get stuck where I was as there
was no traffic the other side of the crossing. I’m still
not sure why there was a traffic jam where I was as it was!
However I do accept that crossing past the line was my fault and
that may well be the argument they use against me assuming they
even do respond to my complaint.
If that crossing is CCTV controlled then that means the operator
chose to bring it down - not only 4 minutes before the train
arrives but on top of my car.
The question about what else would they be able to do is a good
question. I don’t know if each side of the crossing it
able to be lowered separately or not. But I was stationary and
there was a queue of cars behind me. If that barrier had stayed
up no one would have gone ahead of me. And they could maybe have
still lowered the other side. But regardless of if each side was
able to be controlled separately I’m sure the operator
decided that they would be in more trouble NOT lowering the
barriers than hiting my car.
The only good side of this is the damage isn’t in a super
obvious place and it might be repairable by smart repair (but if
it isn’t then it would cost 1000s as it’s the whole
roof assembly would have to be removed to re-spray it). In the
meantime I had blue touch up paint so I’ve covered the
area temporarily.
#Post#: 11053--------------------------------------------------
Re: Car damage from railway crossing barrier
DIR By: Southpaw82
Date: November 23, 2023, 6:12 pm
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You could always let your insurance deal with it. If they think
they can recover from Network Rail then no doubt they’ll try.
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