Level crossings

The Scottish Law Commission has added to its workload with another government inspired project (further to those relating to the World's End case – see no 703, consumer remedies, and damages for wrongful death).  As well as his ongoing work on land registration Professor George Gretton must now oversee the Scottish Law Commission work on level crossings, a joint project with the Law Commission of England and Wales. 

The project was commenced at the suggestion of the Department of Transport and the Commissions intend to publish a joint consultation paper in 2009.

The SLC note that,

 "Level crossings present the largest single risk of catastrophic train accident on Britain’s railways, but the current legal framework is complex and outdated. The aim of this project is to make recommendations to modernise and simplify the legal framework.

"There are over 10,000 crossings in Great Britain. The current law on level crossings is complex, outdated and difficult to access, creating problems for regulators, owners and operators and increasing the safety risk for users. The project will be concerned with examining the legal framework with a view to its modernisation and simplification. The aim is to make recommendations with a view to reforming the framework so that it is more coherent, accessible and up-to-date, allowing for better regulation and reduction of risk."