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Evaluating design hypotheses for pedestrian behaviour at rail level crossings
Book chapter   Peer reviewed

Evaluating design hypotheses for pedestrian behaviour at rail level crossings

Gemma J M Read, Paul M Salmon, Michael G Lenne and Elizabeth Grey
Human Factors in Transportation: Social and Technological Evolution Across Maritime, Road, Rail, and Aviation Domains, pp.135-149
CRC Press
2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315370460-13
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https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315370460-13View
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Abstract

Psychology Transportation and Freight Services Design Practice and Management
Collisions at rail level crossings (RLXs) involving pedestrians represent a significant public safety concern in Australia and internationally. The most recent statistics available show that between 2002 and 2011, 92 pedestrians were struck by trains at RLXs in Australia (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2012). In the United Kingdom, over a similar time frame, 72 pedestrians were killed at level crossings (Rail Safety and Standards Board, 2015). The European Railway Agency has reported 373 fatalities associated with collisions at RLXs in Europe in 2012 alone, with approximately 40% of those killed being pedestrians (European Railway Agency, 2014). It has been noted that Australia and the United States have achieved reductions in the numbers of motor vehicle-train collisions, but not in pedestrian-train collisions (e.g., Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2012; Metaxatos and Sriraj, 2013). To make gains in improving pedestrian safety at RLXs, a new approach is required. Such an approach recognizes that RLXs are complex sociotechnical systems. Taking this perspective, safety at RLXs is the outcome of interactions between social and technical components such as road users, vehicles (road and rail), equipment, and infrastructure. The interactions can be diverse and random, particularly due to the openness

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