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A railway company in Aargau publishes shocking photos. In this way, one wants to sensitize young people in particular.
A mother with a pram and a little girl in tow runs across the tram tracks despite the red light, closed barrier and warning bell. A young person on an e-scooter takes a surprising turn and only realizes at the last second that he is about to get on a train. He saves himself by jumping and lands on the street – where an approaching car can brake in time.
The transport company Aargau Verkehr (AVA) is currently broadcasting these and other scenes in a video. These are anonymized recordings from security cameras, real everyday situations, accompanied by dramatic music and haunting words from the railway staff: “It doesn’t take much for something to happen. At first it’s a bad feeling.”
Dramatic Videos
Aargau Verkehr operates, among other things, the Limmattalbahn or the Wynental-Suhrentalbahn (WSB), i.e. regional trains that have to pass many level crossings and often run along the road. There are accidents with pedestrians, cars, e-scooters and other vehicles.
Campaigns for more safety in public transport are not new. The Aargauer Verkehrsbetrieb surprises above all with the drama of its videos.
“In such tricky situations, a smartphone is very often to be seen,” says Michael Briner from AVA. “We would therefore like to raise awareness of the fact that people in the area of roads and rails put down their mobile phones and concentrate.”
Engine driver hopes that’s enough
The situations are dangerous for pedestrians and drivers, but train drivers also find themselves in stressful situations due to inattentive road users.
Daniel Wernli, engine driver at Aargau Verkehr, told SRF: “It’s a bad feeling. You brake, you drive straight towards it. One hopes that it is enough and nothing happens. Wernli can “horn”, i.e. give the attention signal and initiate emergency braking, nothing more.
A passer-by commented on the campaign images: «I don’t think it’s fair that you just tell the children to stop. But adults do the opposite.” In fact, according to Aargau Verkehr, adults would massively underestimate the braking distance of a train. Around 30 times a year, accidents involving people occur on AVA regional trains.
Over 100 criminal charges in Aargau alone
There are also numerous near-accidents: “Our drivers report hundreds of incidents every year,” says Michael Briner from AVA. This is not only dangerous, but also forbidden. But only a small proportion of cases have legal consequences. “In recent years, we have filed an average of around 120 criminal charges for people crossing our tracks.”
Anyone convicted pays a fine for violating the Railway Act. If there are accidents or disabilities, fines and imprisonment are also threatened. Above all, there is a risk of injury or even death.
The number of accidents has not increased in recent years, says Michael Briner. However, the drivers are observing more and more distractions. Briner therefore hopes that the campaign will work. Because the traffic tends to increase, there are more and more road users with different vehicles – only with more attention can many incidents be prevented.