The reaction to the Selby train crash on 28 February offers a spectacular example of the double standards we apply to transport safety. The rail crash at Hatfield last year killed four people, pre-occupied the media for weeks, and led to the closure of great lengths of the network. The death toll from the Selby crash stands at ten but, because it was directly caused by a car accident, it was interpreted as a freak event.
This position is illogical. This car crash and many others are potentially just as preventable by technical means as crashes involving trains alone, if only we applied comparable standards of safety. It is not just a matter of improving barriers near rail bridges. Say the crash was caused by a burst tyre: the government could insist that all car drivers fit the sort of run-flat tyres that are being fitted to luxury cars. This is exactly the type of safety recommendation that would be made if the cause had been a broken wheel on the train.
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