On this section of line, the local 'residential' trains had priority over long-distance expresses at peak time and drivers of late-running expresses would thus often be further delayed, so the Perth express should have been expecting adverse signals. The driver, "a methodical young man" was in good health and there were no signs of a medical emergency or equipment fault that might have distracted the driver from looking for signals. The report discounted the possibility of green colour signals on the adjacent electric lines having been mistaken for the Up Fast Distant, or of signal sighting being seriously impaired by the low sun (9 degrees above the horizon and 17 degrees to the left of the track).