My train was delayed this morning because some idiot who won their driver's
license in a cereal box managed to take out part of the Brunswick Rd level
crossing, and I had a rather radical idea: why don't they fit "road safety
cameras" to every level crossing that are activated when the crossing is,
and everyone who disobeys the signals gets an on-the-spot fine? Revenue
raised from that could then go into a public transport fund (and an
educational campaign). Given that there's at least one near miss every day
in Melbourne, surely it wouldn't take that long to fill up the fund…

I think I've seen it all at that crossing: people speeding up, people
dodging gates, people parking across the tracks. It's almost like they
don't actually understand that they're supposed to keep the intersection
clear. The level crossing is interlocked with the pedestrian lights on the
adjacent cycle path, and what's really amazing is that there are a large
number of motorists who will stop if just the traffic light is at stop, but
ignore both the traffic lights and the level crossing warning if both are
active. It's beyond my comprehension, but I haven't driven in years so I
don't know what goes through someone's head when they're behind the wheel.

Perhaps I am being a little too cynical this morning.

regards,
Robbie