Doing research on rail/ level crossings and road safety, I have come across interesting data. Approximately 95% of accidents are caused by driver error – and these are inattention, driver distraction, risk taking, disobeying or lack of knowledge of the road rules and sometimes suicide.

Some of the facts are:

• Stopping distance: Trains can’t stop within 1.5 km
• Relative size: If trains were cars you would look like a soda can
• Number of level crossings: There are 7500 level crossings in South Africa
• Number of fatalities: 13 persons were killed last year in 129 incidents

Why do we say there is no contest? – it is obvious that there are a significant size difference – but for the best display on what happens when a train crashes into a motor vehicle we have to refer to our Top Gear experts and a video clip titled “Top Gear Level Crossing Public Service Film”