According to the Railway Safety Regulator’s (RSR) State of Safety Report for 2020/21, 20 individuals were killed at level crossings in South Africa.
According to Thando Makoyi, SHREQ Compliance Manager at Traxtion, all 20 deaths may have been avoided since cars and pedestrians commonly overestimate their skills when approaching a level crossing.
“People don’t consider the speed of a train or its weight. Even when traveling slowly, as is needed at level crossings, it takes time for a train to come to a complete stop.
“The train’s tonnage pulls it forward, and when it impacts something, it has a big impact,” he stated ahead of International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ICLAD), a worldwide event held on June 10th each year to raise level crossing safety awareness.
The International Union of Railways (UIC), the world’s railway association, has led the campaign since 2009, with the cooperation of the railway community.
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