Is it easy to do a wrong side door release, like are the buttons right next to each other so “fat fingers” could be blamed or are they on different sides of the dash board?
The reason incidents like this are easy to do is down to the repetitive nature of the role, some tasks become a reflex action.
If you think day in day out how many times a driver has released the doors after stopping sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, coming in on a red, coming in on a yellow, 5 coaches now, 2 coaches later, that blokes stood a bit close to the platform edge, that pway bloke is acknowledging me isn't he?, ESR of 20 ahead don't forget that, desperate for a wee only two more stops till I get a turnaround, hopefully they grant my leave for that social event, knackered today only one more 3am alarm call till three days off, that 20 ESR is now a 40, that 40 ESR is now a 20 again... Then on the 864th day it's a 3 coach train, you're well rested, you're running on greens, you stop at the 3 car mark with the platform on the right hand side, you reach for the left hand door release buttons and at that split second the most insignificant of thoughts enter your mind, you ponder on that thought for a second just as you press the door release buttons almost as a reflex action. There we go, you've had a wrong side door release. Sometimes it's the stupidest, most insignificant distraction, sometimes it's a series of distractions but either way, you've had a SOL incident (be that a TPWS activation/intervention, SPAD, fail to call, overshoot, stop short, stop short door release, collision or a wrong side door release.
In a job where its not acceptable to make a mistake, it's incredibly difficult to prevent yourself from making a mistake when performing these tasks day in day out.
Speaking as a Driver, I actually find it incredible that Drivers don't have more SOL incidents.
Quick edit, I just noticed on reading through my post after I submitted it that I forgot to put a close bracket after listing the potential incidents, that's an incident right there.