Gerogery level crossing accident

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A serious five-fatality level crossing accident at Bells Road Gerogery, New South Wales, Australia, called into question the design of this level crossing. As a result, it has now been replaced by a bridge.

The accident occurred on January 27, 2001 at 4.07pm.

Far from being a straight-forward level crossing where a straight road crosses a straight railway line, the Gerogery crossing was more complicated:

  • the road has an intersection at the level crossing.
  • the important road does sharp left and right bends.
  • the dog leg is roughly east-west and may have put the sun in the driver's eyes.
  • the red flashing lights cannot properly point at both the main road and minor road approaches.
  • there is an inconsistency between the meaning of "Flashing Red" at railway level crossings and "Flashing Red" at pedestrian crossings, and this applies to all level crossings.
  • the 5 people killed, while locals, were only just on their driving licences, and may have been caught unawares by the complications of the level crossing.

The complication with the road arguably distracts the motorist.


This crash, through the intervention of the local State member, Mr Daryl Maguire MP, Member for Wagga Wagga led the NSW Government to request the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety (the STAYSAFE Committee) of New South Wales Parliament to conduct a review of the safety of railway level crossings. The report of the Committee (STAYSAFE 56, 2004) is available from the [www.parliament.nsw.gov.au website] and is a comprehensive review of road, vehicle, driver and railway-related factors involved in level crossing incidents and crashes. The findings and recommendations of the report have led to major reform of railway level crossing safety across Australia.

An overbridge has now been built, with completion occurring on December 16, 2005.

The overbridge is named the "Five Mates" bridge, in memory of the five friends killed: Kyle Michael Wooden, Luke Gellie Milne, Cameron Michael Tucker, Graham Charles Kelly and Ben Wilkins - who had been heading for an evening rugby league match in Albury.

During legal proceedings following this accident, several witnesses travelling behind the boys' vehicle testified the vehicle appeared to 'race the train'.

This testimony was strenuously refuted by the families of the boys. At the Coronial Inquest, Coroner Mr Carl Milovanovich said of the allegation: "In my view there is certainly one hypothesis that can be discounted immediately,and that is a suggestion that the boys were attempting to race the train. The fact that this version of events received so much publicity, and by innuendo given unwarranted credibility, was most unfortunate and most distressing for the families of the deceased. I wish to make it very clear to the family and to the media who will no doubt report this matter, that I, as coroner, have categorically rejected any suggestion that the boys were attempting to race the train."

Rather, the level crossing was seen as contributing to the deaths of the 5 young men. In summing up, Mr Milovanovich stated: "The acute angle of the curve from a 100kmh area leaves little room for braking if the bells or lights are not seen or heard or for a person who may not be familiar with that section of the road."

The coroner went on to say: "The real tragedy in this matter is not whether the driver made an error of judgement, but that in this day and age when we all strive to reap the benefits of new technology, such as computers, advances in medicine, trains that travel at 160kmh and even faster, we still have a 19th-century approach to level crossings on the basis that they are traversed by horse and cart,"