The rail workers' union has slammed an offer of police diversion to multisport athlete Steve Gurney after his car was hit by a train at a level crossing last year.
Gurney was charged with careless driving after his Subaru 4WD was hit by a passenger train near Rangiora, north of Christchurch, in September last year.
He admitted the charge in November.
Police offered the nine-time Coast to Coast race winner diversion on Tuesday, allowing him to avoid a conviction providing he met certain conditions.
Gurney will return to court in two weeks to advise if he has accepted the diversion offer.
The Rail and Maritime Transport Union says the diversion offer does nothing to help the public's understanding about the consequences of poor driving at level crossings.
There were 14 collisions between vehicles and trains at level crossings in 2011.
The union's general secretary Wayne Butson is critical of Gurney's comments last year that the incident was a simple mistake.
"This shows a complete lack of thought for the human being sitting in the cab of the locomotive doing his or her job," he says.
"Locomotive engineers love their job but every time they begin their shift they worry whether if today will be that day that someone's life is ended in another needless level crossing or trespass incident."
Mr Butson says some train drivers are so traumatised by incidents at level crossings that they give up the job.
"The offer of police diversion to Steve Gurney yesterday doesn't seem at all appropriate to locomotive engineers in the circumstances," he says.
NZN