§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many accidents have taken place in each of the past five years for which figures are available on unmanned and unlit railway crossings involving (i) foot users, (ii) vehicle users and (iii) cattle or other farm animals;
(2) how many accidents have taken place in each of the past five years for which figures are available on railway crossings which are lit involving (i) foot users, (ii) vehicle users (iii) cattle or other farm animals.
§ Mr. PortilloThis information is not readily available in the form requested. The total numbers of accidents at all level crossings (manually-operated automatic and unprotected) during the period 1984–88 are as shown. These categories comprise
Manual: manned gates or barriers, including barriers remotely controlled by closed circuit television.Automatic: half-barriers and open crossings protected by road traffic signals; user-worked gates (UWG) protected by miniature warning lights.Unprotected: UWG: UWG with telephone; open crossings; footpath crossings.The Department's accident records do not show whether a crossing is lit. All manually operated public crossings have some form of illumination and it is a requirement that where the road approaches are lit, all manual and automatic crossings must be lit at least to the same standard.
Level crossing accidents 1984 1985 1986 1987 11988 Manual 30 25 22 14 13 Automatic 16 26 22 21 32 Unprotected 30 28 32 29 31 1 Provisional