Alarming story behind car's close call with light rail train
A driver has had a close call with Canberra’s light rail after a train ran a red light.
Khawar Jadoon shared video of his near run-in with the carriage at an intersection along Flemington Road in the city’s north on Saturday on Facebook.
Mr Jadoon drives towards a crossing with the light remaining green, but suddenly the light rail appears to his right and passes in front of him.
Luckily, he’s able to hit the brakes and stop before the two could crash into each other.
The Canberra man wrote the person operating the light rail “didn’t stop on the red light”.
The video of the close call has been shared more than 46,000 times.
He later told the ABC he “freaked out”.
“I could have crashed with that tram, but I was focusing on my driving and I was really alert,” he told the ABC.
The vision has been reported to Canberra Metro and a spokesperson told Yahoo7 in a statement the incident is under investigation.
The spokesperson added the light rail train went “through a red T-light”.
“Review of the CCTV footage from the vehicle has confirmed driver error to be the cause of the incident,” the spokesperson said.
“Safety of the public and our staff is Canberra Metro’s highest priority and we regret that on this occasion this founding principle of the Canberra light rail project has not been upheld.
“Following the rules of the road is the key to staying safe around light rail and this applies as much to ourselves as it does to other road users.”
The spokesperson said in accordance with Canberra Metro Operations policies the driver of the light rail has been suspended from driving duties during an investigation.
“As the investigation is still underway, we are unable to provide further information at this stage,” the spokesperson said.
Canberra’s light rail network is still undergoing testing. It’s yet to take commuters with services this week ramping up to practise running as frequently as they will when the light rail eventually opens to the public.
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