00:00So Chloe, on the 13th of July, 2025, 23-year-old Brandon Hatcher was killed when the delivery van he
00:07was driving was hit by a train at Bax Crossing near Tenham, which is where I am right now.
00:13And today, the Rail Accident and Investigation Branch released a report on last year's incident.
00:20They found that the train was travelling from Ramsgate to London, Victoria at around 70 miles per hour when the
00:26van was hit and Mr Hatcher was fatally injured.
00:30The crossing here is a user-worked crossing, which means you need to manually open the gates, which go to
00:35both sides of the railway.
00:37It's also fitted with an overlay light system, a miniature stoplight system, which you can see behind me now.
00:43And if it's showing a green light like it is, there are no trains approaching and it's safe to cross.
00:50And it will change to show a red light and an audible warning will sound once a train is detected
00:55to be approaching a crossing.
00:56The correct operation of the crossing is also described by signs there.
01:01And these instruct users to check that a green light is showing before opening both gates, before crossing with a
01:07vehicle and before closing both gates again.
01:10The investigation found that the van was stationary on the level crossing because the green light shown by the stoplight
01:16system when Mr Hatcher arrived almost certainly led him to believe that it was safe to enter the crossing
01:22once the entry gate had been opened, despite the exit gate still being closed.
01:28And they also found that the signage at the crossing and the lack of road markings did not effectively guide
01:33the delivery driver to use the correct crossing procedure.
01:38And what has the report recommended?
01:39So the Rail Accident and Investigation Branch has made four recommendations today.
01:45These are two different bodies.
01:47So that's Network Rail, the Department of Transport and the Health and Safety Executive.
01:51They're asking for a review of the rules that, you know, these user-led crossings use, as well as looking
02:00at the legal framework of these and just making it safer for everyone.
02:04And these bodies have been contacted for comment.
02:07Anna, do you know, let's make sure that you're allowed to argue with the police to take this hole?
02:08Oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh.
