Video has emerged of a brazen cabbie taking a gamble with his life by crossing railway lines while flashing lights and boom gates were in action.
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The 11-second clip, filmed at the Nolan Street railway crossing at Unanderra, shows a vehicle stopped at the crossing, while a truck waits on the opposite side.
But the waiting motorist catches sight of a vehicle to his right and films as a Wollongong Radio Cabs station wagon veers on to the wrong side of the road, evading the boom gate and crossing the railway tracks.
The footage was sent to the Mercury by a concerned motorist who spotted it on Facebook at the weekend.
It is unclear when the video was captured or if the taxi had any passengers at the time.
After viewing the footage yesterday, Lake Illawarra highway patrol officer Sergeant Nicholas Park said he was disappointed to see such a bold breach of the law.
Just last month, the state's highway patrol police launched a five-week campaign, ending June 25, to crack down on dangerous driver behaviour at level crossings.
"Obviously, we're pretty disappointed to see that sort of driver behaviour, especially in light of the recent driver campaign that's been launched and in light of advertising discouraging people from doing that sort of thing," he said.
"Viewing that footage, there's numerous offences detected in that short grab."
By not stopping at the flashing lights, the driver risked a fine of at least $397 and three demerit points, but further charges could have arisen.
"He's put at least one life, but potentially more, at risk by doing something like that."
Sgt Park encouraged anyone witnessing incidents at railway crossings to report them to police.
He said people doing the wrong thing will be prosecuted.
Between 2001 and 2012, there have been 112 collisions involving trains and vehicles at level crossings throughout NSW.
Wollongong Radio Cabs has launched an investigation into the incident.