A man in the Netherlands was very nearly hit by a freight train as he tried to cycle across the tracks.
The near-tragedy, which was captured on CCTV at the crossing in Geleen, prompted Dutch rail operator ProRail to start a safety initiative highlighting the dangers of unguarded crossings.
The incident at Geleen took place some months ago, but the organization decided in November to actively promote the hair-raising footage on social media in the hope it might make people more cautious when crossing railway tracks.
At the time of ProRail’s statement on Nov. 24, three people had died on crossings in the Netherlands in 2018.
ProRail Stakeholder Manager, Geert Vlogman, urged people to consider the enormous impact every accident has on a train driver, conductor and emergency responders.
He described the powerlessness of drivers to intervene in time if they see something on the tracks and advised people using a crossing to take their time, look around carefully, and signal to drivers they have seen the train if there is one approaching.
