RAILWAY CROSSINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 287, 1 December 1923, Page 6

RAILWAY CROSSINGS.

There was a difference of opinion yesterday nt the Motorists' Conference .in Christchurch about the apportionment of responsibility for safety at level ! crossings, and the conference did the ' sensible thing in coupling with a request by local bodies to help by removing obstructions, a motion drawing attention to the Department's duty. It is true that obstructions to views of the line are a danger at many crossings, but we are not sure that it can be laid down as a general principle that their j removal is local bodies' responsibility. As one delegate remarked, the local bodies did not create the crossings.' Certainly it is somebody's business toi attend to features that make so many j crossings death traps. Responsibility I for safety at crossings does not rest wholly on any one party. The RailwayDepartment is perfectly well entitled to require drivers of vehicles to use reasonable care. The driver who does not do so is a danger to himself and all con-1 cerned. The Department, however, is' not entitled to regard the motorists or I the user of the humbler trap as a' trespasser on the line. Tt should he re- I j quired to do its part to make crossings i | safe, by giving those who approach a ] j clear view of the line, or installing I automatic warnings or crossingkeepers. It is a question whether | automatic warnings arc sufficient' at • such busy crossings as those at NewI market, where the line on each side is hidden from view. As we have often said, no private company would be permitted to keep crossings in such a state, i The General Manager of Railways, in | answer to the demand for safety device*, has said it would cost a million and a-half to provide safety devices for all the crossings in the country, but as someone remarked in yesterday's discus--Ision in Christchurch, this is not necessary. If the more dangerous places were attended to, that would be a great , improvement. I ===== !