Driver Blamed for Horrific Rail Crossing Accident

Ms Rogerson, who was 40 at the time, asked the appeal court to apportion some of the blame to Railtrack for not making the crossing more foolproof. Her lawyers argued the crossing was dangerous because the barriers could be raised by a button and there were inadequate written instructions.

Lord Hodge, one of the judges who heard the case, said Ms Rogerson had failed to read the instructions beside the barrier, and had relied instead on the promptings of her boyfriend, Bruce Thomson. He died in the ensuing collision, and a child in the back seat, Sara Clegg, was left brain damaged.

The child’s parents, James and Lorna Clegg, who saw the horrific accident from a car behind, were subsequently awarded £42,000 in damages for the mental trauma.

Ms Rogerson argued the crossing was inherently dangerous, illustrated by three previous near misses. She did not seek to escape blame entirely but wanted the court to order Network Rail to pay some of the damages. In refusing her application, the judges nevertheless criticised Railtrack for providing inadequate instructions. They said, “It lay in their power, in the exercise of reasonable care, to do more to minimise these risks than they in fact did.”