Oh boy this is going to be controversial, This is my veiws on DOO or driver-only operation.

As you can guess am not for DOO as no matter what lies the DFT of them who run RAIL say it is unfafe and here is why. DOO came in the 80s as a way to cost cut staff. In the rule book at the time DOO could only happen on 4 coach trains as the driver could help passengers in a emergency. The demard on the rail network over the years have made train operating companies to break this so 8,10,12 coach trains can run without a second member of staff.

By 21 July 2010, Sir Roy McNulty, chair of the major value for money inquiry of the rail industry in the United Kingdom, tabled a scoping report titled Realising the potential of rail commissioned by the Department of Transport (DfT) and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The report recommended that "the default position for all services on the GB rail network should be DOO (driver-only operation), with a second member of train-crew only being provided where there is a commercial, technical or other imperative", in order to reach the overall industry goal of a "30% unit cost reduction" by around 2018. This in turn has lead to a number of strike actions by the RMT union on at least 6 train operating companies over the last few years with the latest being on South Western Railway and more to come from others in 2020.

The unfafe thing about DOO in my opinion is it add extra pressure on the driver who could miss or forget about a signal while doing platform duties, this happens everyday although the DFT say it reduces dwell times at stations, which could lead to an increase in service frequency, reducing overcrowding. On top of that there has been a rise around 50% in people getting dragged after getting things trapped in the doors, This too happens at lest once a day. I set the scene.........

A 10 coach train pulls up at a busy commuter station, the driver is doing their platform duties, as they close the doors a late runner runs at the train and get part of their coat trapped, the driver can't tell from the DOO cameras and with platform being busy can't tell, they got interlock so with everything looking alright and the signall green they take power, You can guess the rest. Before anyone says am being stupid or what not I live and travelled on and work on most of the DOO networks around London and the South and have seen this with one time having to rip some one's coat to save them.

As well as all this when an emergency happens they is no one to help the passingers, This has been highlighed a number of times with passingsters have detrained and in one case got killed (Kenish Town), the reason the driver being too busy doing things to get the power off and people off and the inpatients of today's public.

I could go on but going to stop here. In my opinion DOO is very unsafe and the DFT covering up the true numbers from the public and saying it is safe it's only going to get worst until a major incident happens and it is a case of when not if it happens.