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Railway
Sleeper
On the morning of 28th
February 2001 a Land Rover towing a trailer left the M62 motorway
at speed. After bouncing down the motorway embankment the
vehicle came crashing to a halt on the main east coast railway
line.
Almost a year on, driver
Gary Hart receives a five year jail sentence for causing the
death of 10 people by dangerous driving.
Kylie Dawson eavesdrops
on a conversation...
PHOTOGRAPHS
COURTESY OF SELBY.NET
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In a
gentlemen's club somewhere near the Leeds Crown Court, three
officials discuss the day's events:
Official
1 -
I think Gary Hart should get at least 5 years. After all,
he did cause a "Great Heck of a Rail Crash".
Official
2 -
Are you serious?
Official
1 -
Yes. Why? Do you think it's a little light for causing death
by dangerous driving? Maybe the bereaved families will think
so, and the police did say he was a "mobile catastrophe waiting
to happen". However, we have to have some perspective here.
 Official
2 - No, that's not what I meant. Don't you think the Railway
authorities have a collective responsibility here.
Official
1 -
Sorry
I don't follow. In what way?
Official
2 -
The
crash barriers on the motorway. These were woefully inadequate
to stop a vehicle getting too close to the Railway. Those
barriers would be laughed at on the Continent. There are built
too short and only good for direct impact.
Official
1 -
Well
the Highways Agency did set up a working group to review the
use of nearside safety barriers on major roads.
Official
2 -
But that's just a Quango with no quantifiable aim. And remember
what Dr Ralph Harrington from the Institute of Railway Studies
said, that the problem would be an "expensive proposition
to resolve".
Official
1 -
Of course it would. At the very least, it would mean a major
investment, which is not a priority. That's why we have a
Quango . . . to stifle it! So you think there's a case here
against the authorities, for either mis-management of funds
or much further up the tree, and that of under-funding.
 Official
2 -
Undoubtedly. This court case and sentence is only deflecting
us from yet another crack in the Railways infrastructure.
Official
1 -
And
if the Railways were to blame. Do you have a particular candidate
in mind?
Official
2 -
Mmm
. . . I agree it's a little difficult but not impossible.
People must take responsibility.
Official
1 -
I suppose, next you'll want management culpability. And we've
managed to avoid that carrion cry from previous notable disasters.
Official
2 -
So to summarise. We concentrate on this luckless fellow, who
at any other time might not have seen any trains - let alone
two. And at the same time, we avoid the reason why he was
there in the first place.
Official
1 -
Look here, you've obviously got a lot to learn. This is not
a particularly good moment for either the Railways or the
Government. Gawd knows they can do with a bit of breathing
space.
Official
2 -
Justice prevails. The little man gets his come uppance.
Official
1 -
Are you sure you are in the right profession?
Official
3 -
Anyone for a 'top up'?
Hart
Facts
1. Friday
11th January 2002: Gary Hart, father-of-four, who had been
convicted on 13th December 2001 of 10 counts of causing death
by dangerous driving, was today sentenced to 5 years in prisonment.
2. Was
responsible for the death of ten people; six passengers, a
buffet chef, a senior train conductor and both train drivers.
In addition, a further 70 people were taken to hospital to
be treated for injuries and shock.
3. On
28th February 2001 at 6.12 a.m., he'd lost control of his
Land Rover which plunged off the M62 motorway and came to
rest on the track of GNER's East Coast mainline Railway. Moments
later an express train collided with the car and was deflected
into the path of a fully-laden coal train coming from the
opposite direction. This occurred close to the North Yorkshire
village of Great Heck.
4. Superintendent
Bracken believed the sentence would make everyone aware that,
in a responsible society, a driving licence is a privilege
and not a right.
5. Andy
Hill from Doncaster, the train driver who survived the crash
said of the verdict, "I'm not very happy. I thought it would
be longer". This was also the general feeling from the bereaved
families.
6. The
accident investigation team from the Humberside Police had
found no signs of braking on the grass which Hart's vehicle
had careered down the embankment on to the track.
7. Peter
Lawrence of Rail Future, a pressure group said "The issue
of motorway crash barriers should be looked at".
8. GNER
and certain Rail groups have agreed that the length and strength
of road barriers should be re-examined. Click
HERE for a history of road-to-rail accidents.
9. At
Leeds Crown Court, the jury was informed that Hart was asleep
at the wheel, after spending the night on the telephone to
Kristeen Panter, a woman he'd met eight days earlier on an
internet dating agency.
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