GATES AT A level crossing in Mayo were held open with a mobile phone charger, leading an An Post worker to drive onto the tracks and be hit by a train.
That is the finding on the Railway Accident Investigations Unit (RAIU) , who released their report into the February 2014 accident today.
The An Post worker was seriously injured when his van was thrown into a ditch as he drove across the tracks at Corraun in Mayo. He sustained six fractured ribs, a fractured nose and eye socket, a chipped shinbone and an injury to his left leg.
The van driver told investigators that while he cannot recollect the incident, he was behind schedule and the weather was particularly bad.
The train was travelling at around 80km/ph.
The RAIU found that the driver’s failure to stop was the immediate cause of the accident, which left him hospitalised. Contributory factors including the securing open of the crossing gates with a mobile phone charger, which was part of regular misuse of the gates by locals.
It added that Íarnród Éireann hadn’t sufficiently protected against the gates being misused.
None of the six passengers or two staff were injured and the driver was taken to mayo General Hospital in Castlebar.
The crossing is an unattended one, meaning that drivers are responsible for opening and closing the gates behind themselves.
However, road markings had been washed away and, most seriously, the gates were held open with a mobile phone charger.
The driver drove onto the level crossing at the same time as a train from Ballina to Manulla was approaching. The train driver applied the brakes, but the train did not stop for 311 metres.
Both drivers tested negative for drugs and alcohol. The RAIU found that the An Post worker failed to take into account his surroundings due to a mix of familiarity and distraction.
Corraun is listed as the 94th most dangerous crossing in the country, from over 1,500.
Since 2007, there have been ten incidents at these types of crossings, leading to two deaths of drivers and one of a farmer.
In 2012, a man was convicted of not closing the gates at a nearby crossing.
The report recommends the crossing be upgraded and a review of these crossings be carried out.
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