On 18/01/2018 11:16 AM, 'Noel Reed'noelreed10@...
[TramsDownUnder] wrote:
> Are the preliminary yellow flashing lights in the approach to a level crossing enough to warn road drivers that the flashing red lights at the crossing are about to display ?

>

I suspect that the attitude of (a very small percentage of) motorists is
in part due to the high level of risk aversion in managing railway
crossings.

In most scenarios, the lights start flashing and the booms come down
well before a train arrives (and rightly so).
As a result, that small percentage of motorists see 'running the rail
crossing' as a lower risk than 'running the orange (or red) light' at
road traffic signals.

Integration of road traffic signals (traffic lights) with level crossing
signals is common in Melbourne, but it leads to even longer waits
without a train in sight and thus reinforces the idea that the wait for
a train to arrive is excessive.

This is more complex on lines with mixed operation of suburban sparks
and country trains (like the line through Essendon) because a non-stop
country train is going to arrive much more quickly after the level
crossing lights change than a stopping all stations suburban train.

Mal Rowe - also concerned that politically driven level crossing removal
campaigns in Victoria add to the odd idea that level crossings are an
infringement of motorist rights