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Hamilton, New Zealand: Visual illusion, a cause of level crossing accidents? |
Cricketer and rail safety campaigner Chris Cairns was bowled for six by Waikato University masters student Helen Clark after meeting with her on March 24th, 2010 to discuss her research on level crossings. Part of a wider Marsden funded vision science project, Clark’s research is looking at whether visual illusions might contribute to accidents on railway level crossings.
“This has great potential to assist with educating the public and raising awareness amongst our communities. I’m certainly encouraged by Helen’s research and how it can contribute and enhance the work we do,” said Cairns.
Established by Cairns after his sister Louise was killed in a level crossing accident in 1993, the Chris Cairns Foundation helps raise public awareness around rail safety and level crossings on New Zealand’s rail network.
“As an organisation, we look to this type of research and the benefits it has for New Zealand. If we consider the number of railway accidents we have here in this country, it’s important to support any progress which can lower these types of statistics.”
Led by Associate Professor John Perrone of the Traffic & Road Safety Research Group at the University of Waikato, the Marsden project is looking at the role of eye movements in people’s perception of the speed of moving objects such as trains. Clark, who graduated in 2009 with an honours degree in psychology, has spent the past 12 months researching for her masters.
Part of her research featured computer simulated experiments in which participants responses to various level crossing situations were monitored using state-of-art eye tracking equipment.
“I had two types of experiments where we tested people’s reactions to computer simulations of an approaching train, motorcar and motorbike at crossings where there were no barriers,” Clark said.
“We looked at distance where participants indicated at what point they would not cross. We also designed a scenario where we tested people’s judgement between the speed of an approaching train and motorcar, and how those compared.” |
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Computer simulation could be utilised as “an interactive education tool” in the future said Cairns, who was enthusiastic about its potential. “We’re looking at innovative and creative ways to engage people in terms of raising awareness. I’d like to see some sort of interactive online tool that can help promote our messages. This idea of computer generated education tools is fantastic especially for children, particularly at primary school level.”
(March 29th, 2010) |
Chris Cairns & Helen Clark, source University of Waikato
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Hamilton, New Zealand: Reckless school bus drivers lambasted |
Two near collisions involving school buses in the last month involved reckless and dangerous driving, according to level crossing safety campaigner and former international test cricketer Chris Cairns. The near accidents occurred North of Auckland, and in Kawerau, in the past few weeks.
"It is fortunate that in both instances no harm was done, however the consequences could very easily have been very different," he says.
Other recent statistics of collisions and near misses are equally disturbing, Mr Cairns says.
Speaking on wider level crossing issues Mr Cairns said "In the first three months of 2010 there have already been 10 collisions at vehicle level crossings, and a further 25 recorded near misses. There were 103 recorded near collisions at level crossings since July last year”.
He added, "These figures indicate that the messages are just not getting through. We need to continue to work to raise awareness about the dangers of level crossings, and to educate drivers that they must always act with care and attention and obey the warning signs at level crossings."
Chris Cairns is currently in New Zealand in support of his foundation. In Christchurch he met with a young survivor of a level crossing collision and a group of Canterbury-based train drivers. "Train drivers are often the forgotten 'victims' of level crossing collisions, who in most cases are first on the scene of a collision. I am always pleased to be able to spend time with them, and to give them the foundation's support," said Mr Cairns. A visit to the University of Waikato is described in the related story in this issue of LXinfo. A further visit was to New Lynn, near Auckland to see how construction of an underground railway station had allowed grade separation of two adjacent level crossings.
(March 29th, 2010) |
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Raising awareness in New Zealand
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Mackay, Queensland: State’s first fatal accident in 2010 |
Queensland’s first fatal level crossing accident in 2010 occurred on March 26th, 2010. The accident which left a female motorist dead was on the Homebush Road active open level crossing in Rosella, near Mackay. The accident happened in the early morning when the woman was on her regular commute to work. The Police have reported that the lights at the level crossing were functioning correctly at the time of the accident. |
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Queensland Rail have said the Homebush Road level crossing has an accident history with a non-fatal collision in 2006 and two near misses at the crossing in the last five years.
(March 27th, 2010) |
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Melbourne, Victoria: Auditor General’s verdict – can do better |
Victoria’s Auditor General published his report concerning the “Management of Safety Risks at Level Crossings” on March 24th, 2010, giving the Victoria Government a satisfactory progress verdict. Satisfactory isn’t good progress, it isn’t excellent progress and thus this is, in reality, a can do better verdict.
In noting that the rate of progress in improving safety and reducing accidents has been satisfactory the Auditor General says that there are, however, elements of the risk management framework and its application that can be improved. These elements are:
- Improving how the Victorian Railway Crossing Safety Steering
Committee (VRCSSC) is informed of the views of the rail managers, who run train services and maintain the infrastructure, about their risks and priorities
- Assembling information that will allow the VRCSSC to effectively manage and monitor the delivery of the Towards Zero strategy
- Improving the understanding of what causes level crossing collisions.
The report says that the information the Department of Transport (DOT) publishes is not sufficient to understand how its plans and programs are progressing and how successful they have been in delivering on the DOT’s objectives.”
Importantly, the Auditor General says that the DOT seems to have introduced a remediation program without fully understanding the costs and the benefits of the programme, although it has introduced assessment measures since the programme began.
Critically the DOT doesn’t have an accurate grasp of the cost-effectiveness of the risk controls it deploys. Thus, the report adds that while the DOT mostly understands the costs, it has not adequately evaluated the benefits of each treatment deployed. In short, the report is critical of the DOT because it hasn’t adequately assessed treatments before their deployment, or once deployed, evaluated them. |
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The recommendations made by the Auditor-General’s are that the DOT should:
- Work with the rail managers to strengthen the processes it uses to inform the VRCSSC about the rail managers’ views when making decisions about level crossing priorities and upgrades
- Lead the road and rail managers to develop a detailed, three-year plan that provides an adequate basis for managing and monitoring the Towards Zero strategy.
- With Public Transport Safety Victoria’s support, agree on and document the actions needed to deliver a better understanding of level crossing collisions as part of the detailed plan underpinning the Towards Zero strategy
- Review the legislation and develop recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the level crossing closure process
- Understand why the charges for level crossing upgrades completed by different organisations have varied, with the view to improving efficiency
- Publish an analysis of the issues raised by its survey of level crossings, identifying the works required, agency responsible and an estimate of the cost
- Improve the approach to assessing risk mitigation treatments before their deployment and evaluating treatments once deployed
- Improve the way it reports on level crossing safety.
The full report can be found at: http://download.audit.vic.gov.au/files/240310_Level
_Crossings_full_report.pdf
(March 24th, 2010) |
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Monash, Victoria: Assessing community attitudes to speed limits |
The Accident Research Centre at Monash University has released the final report of the Assessing Community Attitudes to Speed Limits study sponsored by highways authorities from Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria. A further sponsor was Victoria’s Department of Justice.
The approach adopted was an on-line survey yielding 4,100 responses from 18 to over 55 year olds, most of whom wee licensed drivers. The majority were in favour of reducing speed limits from 100 kph on two-lane undivided highways and on rural gravel roads. Only around one-third of respondents favoured urban speed reductions. |
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The study showed that many of those responding didn’t fully understand the link between speeding and speed limits and their association with crash risk. The study also showed a correlation between a better understanding and positive attitude to lowering speed limits. Therefore, the report concludes there to be value of further education around speed, speed limits and their association with crash risk.
Logically, and by extension beyond the study itself, advocates of level crossing safety need to raise awareness of the case for lower road speeds at level crossings.
(March 23rd, 2010) |
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Melbourne, Victoria: Construction of AU$48.5m over-bridge under way |
Victoria’s Roads Minister, Tim Pallas broke the ground to mark the start of construction of a road-over-rail bridge on Kororoit Creek Road in Melbourne’s west-end. The ceremony on March 16th, 2010 had been long awaited as the delays that could occur at the level crossing were significant. Now, with work underway, the focus shifts to the completion of the bridge in late 2011 when traffic will be able to flow freely across the railway.
(March 17th, 2010) |
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Tim Pallas, Victoria’s Roads Minister |
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Perth, Western Australia: Collision impacts two commuter routes |
A mid-afternoon car accident on the Welshpool Road level crossing in Perth, Western Australia, threatened disruption to evening peak services on the Armadale and Thornlie lines with the eastbound line out of use and trains restricted to running on the westbound line which remained open. This accident occurred on March 15th, 2010.
(March 15th, 2010) |
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Melbourne, Victoria: Concerns after details of overrun through level crossing emerges |
Concerns surrounding the braking of Siemens built trains in use on Melbourne’s heavy rail commuter services have intensified after it emerged that there have been overruns through level crossings as a result of braking issues.
The latest revelations concern a January 17th, 2010 incident involving a train braking for a routine stop at Hallam station which, despite application of the emergency brake took double of the expected distance to stop. As a result the train ran through the station and over the Hallam Road level crossing which lowered for the approaching train which passed through at a speed of 41 kph, coming to a stand 130 metres beyond it.
Melbourne has 36 Siemens built trains which were first introduced into service in 2003. Strictly, speaking it appears that the braking failures are a wheel – rail interface issue in which adhesion issues are significant. Accordingly, these trains are now only operating in six car formations, rather than the three scheduled for some services.
(March 15th, 2010) |
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Siemens built train for Melbourne |
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Riverstone, New South Wales: Mayor says a new crossing is needed |
A debate around the case for a new level crossing that has rumbled on for at least a decade shows no sign of abating. In the latest skirmish the Mayor of Blacktown has argued the case for the new level crossing in Riverstone, New South Wales, saying that the absence of access is hampering economic development in Riverstone. Local leaders maintain that the state government should fund the new access route. However, so far, there doesn’t appear to be a State level will to proceed.
(March 10th, 2010) |
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