Canberra’s drivers have been reminded to stay alert around light rail. Photo: ACT Government.
Since the beginning of the year, Canberra’s light rail vehicle drivers have been forced to pull on the emergency brake 48 times after motorists and pedestrians have run the gauntlet across the tracks.
That’s an average of once every 4.5 days.
A horn automatically sounds in these cases, but at the top speed of 70 km/h, the light rail vehicle still requires 60 metres to come to a complete stop – double the length of all the carriages.
This carries a risk to the passengers inside too, who are thrown forwards by the force.
In total, drivers have reported 159 near misses since 1 January 2023, not to mention one pedestrian and two motorists who weren’t so lucky. There were no serious injuries or deaths.
These figures, along with equally nail-biting video footage captured from cameras mounted to the front of the vehicles, have been released as part of Rail Safety Week 2023.
ACT Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the annual event is an important reminder for all Canberrans to stay alert around light rail.
“With more than 13 million passenger boardings since light rail started operating in 2019 and construction now well underway on the next stage, it’s important we don’t forget our personal responsibilities for ensuring the safety of ourselves and others when you’re around the tracks,” he said.
“This means staying behind the yellow line while waiting on light rail platforms, stopping to look both ways before you cross light rail tracks and paying attention when on the corridor by putting away phones and taking off headphones.”
There has been a growing number of cases where vehicles have turned across red lights into the light rail’s path, and Mr Steel warned the penalties for this are the same as running any other red light.
“The same penalties apply as turning across a red light in any other part of our road network, but the collision and seriousness of a collision is quite significant,” Mr Steel said.
To help prevent a repeat of last year’s statistics, the government again teamed up with students from three colleges to create artwork for the sides of the light rail vehicles.
These include Caroline Austin and Jose Arbelaez from Dickson College, Chaerin Hwang from Gungahlin College and Amelie Lawless from Merici College.
The designs include a kangaroo asking Canberrans to “paws, look and listen”, eggs dressed as pedestrians with the slogan “don’t get cracked”, a light rail vehicle depicted as a shark for “don’t be bait” and superheroes wearing traffic signs as their chest-piece logos.
College students with the light rail safety designs for Rail Safety Week 2023. Photo: ACT Government.
The wraps will be displayed on two of Canberra’s light rail vehicles over the next year.
Members of the public will also be able to vote for their favourite design from 32 shortlisted submissions via QR codes on student posters onboard the two light rail vehicles.
As another deterrent, Transport Canberra often hands footage of incidents to police to investigate and potentially prosecute.
“In partnership with Transport Canberra, we definitely investigate all instances of criminal behaviour or near misses, as we call them,” ACT Policing Detective Inspector Stephen Ladd said.
“They can be prosecuted … There have been a number of fines and prosecutions over the last year.
“It can have tragic consequences if people just don’t obey the rules and don’t take care when moving around the light rail network.”
Call ACT Policing on 131 444 to report illegal or antisocial behaviour around light rail vehicles.
Loading ...
