A (woman) learner drives through a barrier onto a train line, barriers come down and she realises she has made a ballsup and reverses back smashing the barrier and hits the car behind.
She was fined and banned for dangerous driving.
She had a qualified driver in the car supervising her and they faced no charges.
I thought that was what the qualified driver was for, to take over in an emergency or better still not allow an emergency in the first place.
Probably went for the easy prosecution. Assuming it wasn't a dual control car, very difficult to assign guilt if the passenger asserts that they were shouting at the driver to stop. Once past the barrier, reversing through the barrier and into a car is probably the safest option.
The qualified driver is there to supervise; the learner driver (LD) is, ahem, the driver and on the hook for offences (and hence needs a licence and insurance).
The supervising person can be guilty of an offence - eg using a handheld mobile phone - but is not on the hook for all the LD's actions or inactions. It'd be a bit hard on instructors if they were: eg it'd be dead easy for an enemy to pay someone to book a lesson and run up enough penalty points and damage to put the instructor out of work.
On reflection that needs qualification. Supervising drivers are held to be in control of the car, and they are prosecuted for things like supervising a learner while pissed or stoned. But it doesn't follow that their tender bits are on the block for everything the learner does.
"British Transport Police said Akingbogun, who was with a qualified driver at the time, caused £1,100 of damage to the barrier. It was a "rather foolish manoeuvre", it said"
Was that really dangerous driving? Looking at the photo the car ended up clear of the tracks. It obviously wasn't ideal, given the damage to the barrier and the cars, but given the situation it could have been a lot worse.
Why not forward into the barrier where there is no car to hit?
- -
"We CAN hide forever."
- Klaun Shittinb'ricks (1940 - ), acknowledging that he will NEVER prove where he infests or give his real jew name
Iudaei orbem terrarum infestant.
- correct Latin
"Die Juden sind unser Unglück!"
- Heinrich von Treitschke (1834 - 1896)
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the jews, and I did not speak out because I did not give a shit. Then they came for me and there wasn't a single commie bastard left to speak for me."
- Martin Niemöller (1892 - 1984)
Illuc nisi Dei gratia vadam.
- Revd Terence Fformby-Smythe (? - )
Glad you clarified the driver's sex as the later use of the word "she" would have totally thrown us otherwise. :-)
'She' has been latterly used for transbenders such as Bruce Jenner who are not, technically or biologically, women.
- -
"We CAN hide forever."
- Klaun Shittinb'ricks (1940 - ), acknowledging that he will NEVER prove where he infests or give his real jew name
Iudaei orbem terrarum infestant.
- correct Latin
"Die Juden sind unser Unglück!"
- Heinrich von Treitschke (1834 - 1896)
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the jews, and I did not speak out because I did not give a shit. Then they came for me and there wasn't a single commie bastard left to speak for me."
- Martin Niemöller (1892 - 1984)
Illuc nisi Dei gratia vadam.
- Revd Terence Fformby-Smythe (? - )
Going through the red flashing lights when the barriers are coming down is the dangerous driving part.
Jeff
Not accellerating and driving over was even worse, there is even enough space 'before' the exit barrier to park up and wait. I am very familiar with that crossing and very frequently there is a Police van filming there, plus the railway cameras, so it must see plenty of red light jumping.
The name should explain a few thing. Adenike Akingbogun.
Ah, you mean like THIS!
"We CAN hide forever."
- Klaun Shittinb'ricks (1940 - ), acknowledging that he will NEVER prove where he infests or give his real jew name
Iudaei orbem terrarum infestant.
- correct Latin
"Die Juden sind unser Unglück!"
- Heinrich von Treitschke (1834 - 1896)
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the jews, and I did not speak out because I did not give a shit. Then they came for me and there wasn't a single commie bastard left to speak for me."
- Martin Niemöller (1892 - 1984)
Illuc nisi Dei gratia vadam.
- Revd Terence Fformby-Smythe (? - )
Indeed. There was time for her to keep going and exit the contested space before the second barrier on her side of the road descended.
If it had been a dual control car then I reckon the driving instructor could be held responsible if he had stamped on the brakes too late.
And could have been entirely avoided if they had just kept on going at a steady pace or speeded up a bit - there was time and space to do so.
Either way a bit of bent metal and points is better than being smashed to total oblivion by a side swipe from an express train.
The test of dangerous driving isn't whether people are killed or injured, it's whether the driving was (a) far below what a competent and careful driver would achieve and (b) obviously dangerous to a competent and careful driver. On that basis ISM she was bang to rights. Didn't stop and didn't keep going having failed to stop; and put at risk pedestrians behind her, people on the train which might have struck the car if the vehicle behind hadn't reversed, and of course the supervising driver.
How competent is a learner driver?
How many lessons had the learner had?
Trains are timetabled the instructor should have known [1] when a train was due. Now maybe he did and approaching and stopping at a level crossing was part of his instruction. But it didn't go right.
[1] I know if I set out to work at 9:45 I'll be held up at a junction by a solid stream of vehicles that have been stopped and released from a crossing about 1 mile up the road from that junction. It's the 9:42 from Derby to Stoke.
I defy anyone to know the timetable on christmas eve, plus that crossing has lots of shunting and goods trains go across it, quite often the same loco plus trucks will go one way, then return without the gates going up.
and, I don't believe it was an 'instructor' as such, more of an accompanying driver, plus the car/driver was not local, being from the other side of the river.
The qualified driver ought to have faced some very serious charges..
But why was the next car driving right up behind when that driver could see that the learner car went through the barrier and might need to reverse?
Wasn't that just like: "Not my problem mate".
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