Five ‘potentially fatal’ near-misses caused by motorists on level crossings

Five drivers in the region were almost killed in accidents around level crossings between Oakey and Gatton, causing operators to issue a desperate plea.

The Oakey level crossing has become a hotspot for accidents.

A series of potentially fatal near misses on the region's level crossings have left operators pleading with the community to exercise caution.

Rail freight company Aurizon is urging Darling Downs residents to take greater care around the rail corridors in the region.

In a 10-day period, five near misses with trains occurred – two in Oakey, one in Gowrie, one at Gatton and one in Murarrie.

Aurizon’s acting regional operations manager Richard Auld said “unnecessary risks” were being taken by motorists and pedestrians.

This also exposed train drivers to severe trauma, and Mr Auld said most of the incidents were because of the negligent behaviour of drivers.

“Two of these incidents were due to the motorists blatantly disobeying level crossing flashing lights,” he said.

“The other three were as a result of trespassers on the rail corridor, one of which was trying to take pictures of our train.”

Mr Auld said it would be at drivers’ detriment to ignore the rules around level crossings.

“There are warning signs and flashing lights in place at level crossings for a reason and they shouldn’t be ignored,” he said.

“Everyone needs to be patient and wait for the train to pass. It only takes two minutes for a train to pass through the level crossing and that’s a small price to pay when you consider the alternatives.”