The crash took place
when a vehicle carrying
three family members
stopped on the crossing
at Dorman Road just
after exiting highway
19A, the city's main
north-south route. It
was then struck by a
southbound VIA Rail
passenger train. The
collision killed two of
the vehicle's occupants
and left the third
seriously injured.
Neither of the train's
two crew members, nor
any of the 37
passengers, were hurt.
According to
investigators, the
automated warning
devices at the crossing
were functioning.
However, the driver
likely didn't notice the
flashing lights or hear
the warning bell until
14 metres from the
crossing - an
insufficient distance to
safely stop the moving
vehicle.
"This crossing
wouldn't be built this
way today," said Peter
Hickli, the
TSB's
Investigator in Charge.
"Crossings like Dorman
Road were designed to
meet the standards at
the time of
construction, but
today's standards are
much higher." The
TSB notes
modern crossing designs
have evolved, and now
provide more distance
for vehicles to stop,
greater advance warning
to drivers, and better
sightlines.
Adding to the risk,
although the rail line
is used infrequently,
with an average of just
two to three trains
daily, it is adjacent to
a busy four-lane
highway. This means that
drivers exiting the
highway onto Dorman Road
find themselves in the
middle of a railway
crossing very quickly.
"Raising these safety
issues is a step in the
right direction," said
Hickli, "but making this
crossing safer will take
a concerted effort from
Southern Railway of
Vancouver Island, the
BC Safety
Authority and the City
of Nanaimo. We need to
learn from what happened
and take steps to reduce
the risk of such a
tragedy happening
again."
The release of the
report comes only months
after the
TSB issued a
highly publicized safety
Watchlist, which drew
attention to the issue
of collisions between
vehicles and passenger
trains in busy rail
corridors. "While the
Victoria Subdivision is
not a 'busy rail
corridor', the fact
remains that it too
would benefit from the
measures called for in
the
TSB's
Watchlist," said Hickli.
To help reduce the risk
of collisions at
crossings, the Watchlist
highlights the need for
improved crossing design
and better advance
warning for drivers, as
well as safety
assessments.
The
TSB is an
independent agency that
investigates marine,
pipeline, railway and
aviation transportation
occurrences. Its sole
aim is the advancement
of transportation
safety. It is not the
function of the Board to
assign fault or
determine civil or
criminal liability.
The final report
R09V0219 can be
found on this site.
