Improving Safety at Level Crossings Australian Developments Dudley Roach Rail CRC Australia

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Improving Safety at Level CrossingsAustralian
DevelopmentsDudley RoachRail CRC Australia
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Australian Railways
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Action Plans

• Prior to 2002 considerable activity but little
  consistency or coordination.
• Important but uncoordinated initiatives by State
  Level Crossing Committees (SLCC), road agencies
  and the rail industry.
• The Australian Railway Crossing Strategy
  Implementation Group (ARCSIG) was formed by the
  Australian Transport Council (ATC) via the
  governments' National Transport Coordinating
  Committee, the Standing Committee on Transport
  (SCOT) and its Rail Group.

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Components of RailwayLevel Crossing Safety
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Railway Level Crossing Safety Strategy and the
National Road Safety Action Plan 2003-2006

• Developed by the Australian Transport Council

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Level Crossings in AustraliaAn Overview

• 9400 Level Crossings in Australia
• 'Active' railway level crossings
• Automatic Signals and/or Boom Gates
• (n 2649 or 28 in Australia)
• 'Passive' railway level crossings
• static signs and/or pavement markings
• (n 6060 or 64 in Australia)

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Actively Protected Crossing
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Passively Protected Crossing
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Level Crossings in AustraliaAn Overview

• Each year there are about 100 crashes between
  road vehicles and trains at level crossings in
  Australia.
• These result in 8 fatalities on average.
• Average 0.7 of fatal road crashes.
• Number of fatalities per 100 fatal level crossing
  crashes was slightly higher than the number of
  fatal road crashes per 100 road crashes.

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Big Bad Rail

• In recent years the number of railway accident
  fatalities in Australia has fallen from 12/yr to
  8/yr.
• Level crossing crashes are often severe and
  dramatic and are reported emotively in the media
  to the detriment of rail.
• Level crossing fatal accidents still constitute
  about half of the national rail toll.
• Average 0.7 of national road toll.

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Upgrading

• There are 6060 crossings with passive
  protection.
• About 350,000 is needed to install boom gates,
  bells and flashing lights at a rail crossing.

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A New Approachfor Australia

• Not financially viable to obtain an engineering
  upgrade solution.
• The merits of human factor research needed to
  be tested.
• Government funded programs focussed on factual
  information and law enforcement.
• Improving drivers understanding and behaviour
  through training, information, education and
  awareness is justified.

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The Development of a Community Intervention
Program for Level Crossing Education Evaluates
educational intervention programs targeting
different road user groups. Uses a
multidisciplinary approach drawing on
perspectives from psychology and sociology.
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Objectives

• Develop, trial and evaluate a research based,
  community intervention and education program to
  promote safe level crossing pedestrian and driver
  behaviour
• Decrease the level of at risk pedestrian and
  vehicle driver behaviour at level crossings
• Increase pedestrians and vehicle drivers
  knowledge of appropriate level crossing behaviour

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Objectives (cont.)

• Examine the current organizational and social
  context of level crossing safety
• Develop a model and strategies for intersectoral
  collaboration to improve level crossing safety
• Identify and quantify (through mathematical
  modeling) causes of rail accidents and subjective
  probabilities of occurrence of accidents from
  different groups of people

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Benefits to Industry

• Reduction in deaths and injuries
• Reduction in litigation and financial costs
• Raising the public profile and corporate
  responsibility
• Leadership in managing safety risks
• Development of strategic alliances and
  partnerships to sustain risk management processes

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Activities

• Target road drivers attitudes, knowledge,
  perceptions and behaviour.
• Focus on heavy vehicles, older and younger
  driver samples.
• Determining the key factors that contribute to
  unsafe driving behaviour.
• Evaluates of road safety interventions needed
  to provide the rail industry with the necessary
  information to assist in implementation of
  strategies to improve level crossing safety in
  Australia.

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Crash Statistics

• Currently, exact statistics of LC incidents are
  difficult to determine.
• Most jurisdictions in Australia use different
  methods of categorizing and recording crashes.
• Lack of definitive evidence available relating to
  the extent and nature of level crossing crashes.

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Level Crossing Crash Fatalities by Mode
ofTransport (Australia 1997-2000)
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Fatal Crashes

• Sample of 87 fatal crashes
• 66 point of impact at front of the train.
• 16 at the side of the train.
• Remaining being unknown.
• 67 in a rural areas
• 18 occurred in a capital city
• Remainder of cases the location was unknown.

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Fatal Crashes Cont.

• Sample of 87 fatal crashes
• 10 occurred at crossings with boom gates.
• 41 at other actively protected crossings.
• 44 at passively protected crossings.
• Remaining being unclassified.

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Fatal Crashes Cont.

• Sample of 87 fatal crashes
• 83 of crashes occurred in daylight (excluding
  dawn or dusk) .
• 63 occurred on a weekday during the day.
• 14 occurred at night.
• 2 at dawn.
• 1 at dusk.

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Fatal Crashes Cont.

• Sample of 87 fatal crashes
• 85 occurred in fine weather.
• 84 of crashes occurring on a dry road.
• 46 due to unintended road user error.
• compared with 22 of other fatal road crashes.
• 26 of drivers were in the 60 age group
• Compared with 10 in that age group for other
  fatal crashes.

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Fatal Factor Comparisons
Factor Fatal Level Crossing Crashes Other Fatal Road Crashes
Adverse Weather or Road Conditions 13 9
Alcohol/Dugs 9 31
Fatigue 3 8
Unintended Driver Error 46 22
Excessive Speed 7 23
Other Risk Taking 3 5
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Summary

• Over 80 of fatal accidents at railway level
  crossings in Australia happen in daylight, in
  fine weather and on straight, dry roads.
• And the majority of all accidents occur even
  with an appropriate warning system in place.

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Summary

• Unlike other fatal road crashes, accidents at
  railway crossings were less likely to involve
  fatigue, speeding, drugs or alcohol.
• Instead these crashes were more likely to be
  attributed to driver error.

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Behaviour
Reported Near Misses per Year
Queensland 673
Victoria 543
New South Wales 526
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Focus Groups of Train Drivers

• Interviews to explore train drivers experiences
  of
• Incidents and near misses (including
  frequency, reporting, and characteristics).
• Motorist behaviour observed at level crossings.
• Vehicle types involved in level crossing
  incidents.
• The impact of level crossing incidents on train
  crew.

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Train Drivers Opinions

• In non-urban areas
• 60 of near misses are due to poor visibility
  (such as angle of approach).
• 30-40 actually due to the motorist.
• In urban areas
• Impatient drivers evade the boom gates.
• Traffic queued across the track gridlocked.
• Trucks are particularly susceptible to gridlock.

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Cameras at Level Crossings

• RailCorp recently rolled out CCTV cameras across
  its network in NSW.
• Signs tell if a camera is in operation.
• Cameras monitor and record any offence or
  infringement, which may be reported to the Roads
  Traffic Authority or appropriate law
  enforcement agencies.
• Data is analysed statistically for research
  purposes related to level crossing safety.

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Level Crossing Safety Camera Program

• Between August and November 2004, motorists
  were recorded over 28 separate days at a busy
  crossing with a high record for incidents..
• The purpose of this filming was to find out
• what sort of road rule offences were being
  committed at railway level crossings
• how often these non compliances were occurring
• how reliable traffic safety cameras are for
  collecting information on these behaviours.

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Level Crossing Safety Camera Program

• Over 5,000 offences during the 28 days of
  observation.
• The three most common breaches of the road rules
  were
• 64 - motorists racing the barrier while it was
  still opening after the train had passed
• 24 - motorists entering the crossing even though
  the road ahead was blocked and they couldnt
  drive clear of the tracks without stopping. These
  are referred to as gridlock
• 11 - motorists racing the barrier while it was
  closing.
• Drivers committing gridlock offences are at the
  greatest
• risk of being hit by a train.

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Level Crossing Safety Camera Program

• A second trial of the camera at the same location
  is currently occurring and is due to continue for
  a number of months.
• A report on the results of the first trial is
  currently being finalised and will be released
  November 2005.
• A location to erect another surveillance camera
  at a level crossing is currently being
  identified.

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PROPOSALS TO UNDERTAKE RESEARCH INTO REDUCING
THE RISK OF CRASHES AT RAILWAY LEVEL CROSSINGS
IN AUSTRALIA
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FIVE PROPOSED NEW PROJECTS
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Project 1
Increasing The Conspicuity Of Locomotives and
Rollingstock

• Outcomes
• A comprehensive review of all options for
  enhancing locomotive conspicuity under Australian
  operating conditions.
• Recommendations for improving locomotive
  conspicuity under Australian conditions.
• Outcomes of visibility trials of the most
  promising conspicuity enhancement treatments
  under Australian operating conditions.
• A definitive answer as to whether worthwhile
  conspicuity improvements can be made to
  locomotives under Australian conditions.

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Project 2
Adequacy of Warning Signals for Road/Rail
Drivers With Colour Vision Deficiency.

• Outcomes
• Specifications developed as guidelines for the
  development of new warning signals to provide the
  least confusion to drivers with colour vision
  defects.
• Field tests involving an examination of signals
  in operation to determine the optimum signals
  working characteristics.

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Project 3
Ranking of the Safety of Passive Crossings

• Outcomes
• Project output will be a method for ranking the
  (un)safety of passive crossings that will allow
  efficient allocation of limited resources for
  remedial work.
• The ranking system will be based on objective
  data as well as expert judgment.

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Project 4
The Effect of Road Surface on Approaches to
Level Crossing on Drivers Awareness of Trains.

• Outcomes
• Examination of the distraction to drivers caused
  by the condition of the road surface. (potholes
  and corrugations).
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of speed
  restricting devices such as speed bumps.
• Evaluation of the effect of smooth road surface
  in the vicinity of the crossing in an otherwise
  poorly maintained road.
• Simulated laboratory experiments costing is
  dependent on the scope of the project.

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Project 5
The Consequences of Increased Train Speed and the
Liebowitz Illusion.

• Outcomes
• Examination of the illusion of velocity and size
  - the larger the object, the more slowly it
  appears to be moving.
• (The Liebowitz Illusion).
• Experimental data from the field and the
  laboratory using computer generated images as
  well as driving simulator experiments.

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Thank Youwww.railcrc.cqu.edu.au