A REPORT has recommended that Blackpool Transport and Blackpool Council review their processes for identifying and assessing risks, after a 69-year-old man died following a night-time collision on a tramway crossing in November 2021.
The pedestrian was using an uncontrolled crossing over both tracks of the Blackpool system close to Anchorsholme Park at Cleveleys when he was hit by a tram. He died the following day in hospital.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report states that the tram driver was unaware of the presence of the pedestrian on the crossing and that it would have been difficult to see him as he walked onto it.
The RAIB believes the pedestrian may have misjudged the speed of the tram and could also have believed he was more visible to the tram driver than was in fact the case. Its report added that the angle of the crossing could also have deterred him from checking to his left (the direction from which the tram was approaching).