Sat nav blamed for van’s railway crash

Jul 9 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

A VAN driver who caused a crash with a train carrying 45 passengers last month only ended up in the area after following directions from his satellite navigation system.

Delivery man Graham William Foster, 21, of Druridge Crescent, Blyth, Northumberland, was the driver of a yellow Mercedes Sprinter van that collided with the train at a level crossing in Bardon Mill, Northumberland, on June 3.

Foster was warned yesterday to expect a jail term for causing the accident which happened when his vehicle was hit by the 16.24 Northern Rail train from Newcastle to Whitehaven.

He pleaded guilty to the offence of endangering the safety of passengers on the train by wilful omission or neglect at Tynedale Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard how Foster had ignored safety notices at the crossing and had not followed written instructions to ring a signaller to check if it was safe to cross. Instead, he simply attempted to cross the track, causing the accident.

Prosecuting, Alison Wilkinson said that had the van been a fraction further forward at the time of collision the accident could have been much more serious.

She said: “The police have advised that if the van had been even slightly further onto the track there would have been a risk of derailment.”

All the passengers on the train escaped unharmed, while the driver was treated for shock. Foster needed five stitches to a cut arm and treatment to head injuries.

Defending, Michelle Turner said that the accident had happened in an area that Foster was not familiar with and at a time when he was under pressure to make an urgent delivery to a rural location.

She said: “It was a completely strange area to him and he was under a great deal of pressure to get the delivery out first and foremost.

“He entered the details of the address into his satellite navigation and that directed him down what is essentially a gravel track.

“During the investigation the police also had concerns about the track – it is essentially a road to nowhere.”

She also praised the skill of the driver in preventing the accident from being more serious, before continuing: “He [Foster] fully cooperated and did not at any time try to negate what had happened.

“It had been an exceptionally long day and he was in an area he wasn’t used to.“

Foster had started work at 7.30am and the delivery he was making was about the 85th on a list of 120.

Magistrates at the court yesterday warned Foster that he could expect a custodial term for his actions and that he may yet be sent to crown court if their powers of sentence were found to be insufficient.

A pre sentence report will now be prepared and Foster will reappear at the court later this month.