Pictured: The moment a motorist dices with death by driving under level crossing barriers
By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated:
Hurtling under a level crossing's closing barriers with just inches to spare, this is the shocking moment a motorist narrowly misses a high-speed train.
Charles Shaw, 40, made a 'split-second decision' to chance his luck by driving through a flashing red stop signal at Foxton, near Cambridge.
CCTV caught his silver Volkswagen Golf speeding beneath the red and white barrier across the railway tracks seconds before an express train was due.
'Split second decision': Motorist Charles Shaw ignores the flashing red lights and drives through a level crossing in Foxton, Cambridgeshire
Shaw, from Sutton, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a red signal when he appeared at Cambridge Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Paul Brown, baudasdicas prosecuting, told the court the red signal can be seen from at least 500 yards away.
He said: 'This is a crime of a serious nature, far more dangerous then running an ordinary red light.'
Driving under the closing barrier with just inches to spare, Shaw narrowly avoids colliding with a high-speed train
Shaw told the hearing he had a 'split second change of heart when he was about to stop' after watching three cars go through ahead of him.
He was fined £600, ordered to pay £50 costs and given three penalty points on his licence.
Sentencing him, magistrate Dr Stephen Halliday said Shaw was lucky to be alive.
'We get very few of these cases,' he said.
'Usually when someone runs a red light at a train crossing they are in no condition to come to court afterwards.
'This was a serious offence which could have resulted in the death of not only yourself but also lots of people on the train.'
'Serious offence': Shaw was fined £600, ordered to pay £50 costs and given three penalty points
Speaking outside court, Chief Inspector Alistair Beaton of the British Transport Police said level crossings were highly dangerous places that should not be underestimated.
He said: 'It is imperative that people do not take risks at rail crossings because misusing them can have tragic consequences.
'Trains travel at high speeds and they cannot swerve to avoid obstacles on the line.
'For the sake of waiting for just a few extra moments I would urge that drivers are mindful that they do not to risk endangering their lives, or the lives of others.'
View from the other side: A train makes its way through Foxton as patient drivers wait at for it to pass