Level Crossing Awareness and Enforcement Campaign Five years of working together

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1 2016 Global Level Crossing Symposium Helsinki, Finland June 2016 Level Crossing Awareness and Enforcement Campaign Five years of working together Senior Sergeant Mick TIMMS B Prof Stud (Policing) UNE Member Australasian College of Road Safety Traffic and Highway Patrol Command New South Wales Police Force

2 The first word Norm Carlson Metra Commuter Railroad Illinois At the 2014 Global Level Crossing Symposium in Illinois, Norm asked us this question: In a world of distractions, why should people listen to our message?

3 Level Crossings In NSW n 1,400 public road level crossings n 122 collisions involving trains and road vehicles between 2001and 2015 n Level Crossing Strategy Council (LCSC) coordinates level crossing safety initiatives by rail infrastructure managers and road managers and other key stakeholders n Level Crossing Improvement Program funds a range of level crossing safety initiatives

4 Setting the Scene n Up until 2012, NSW averaged one level crossing (LX) crash every year n By comparison, NSW road toll that year 369 n Competing needs for road policing resources But.. n 10 near misses each month n On-going concerns from stakeholders regarding non-compliance at LX s n 2007 Kerang (11 killed) and Gerogery (5 killed) and potential for multiple casualties

5 Level Crossing Awareness and Enforcement Campaign n Partnership between NSWPF and Transport for NSW with help from local road agencies & govt n Provides education campaign supported by highly visible police enforcement at selected level crossings n In five years, 25 localised campaigns targeting over 50 level crossings throughout NSW n Originally addressed queuing but now noncompliance with LX controls n Has lead to further LX safety projects between TfNSW and NSWPF

6 Site Selection n Planners meets in July to devise campaign matrix for next 12 months. Site selection criteria includes: Crash & penalty notice data Near-hit occurrences Suggestions from state Highway Patrol Rail industry nominations Concerns from train drivers Heavy Vehicles (B-double, RT routes) Frequency of train services n Commitment for funding obtained from LCSC

7 What we target n Disobey Controls: stop signs, flashing lights, boom gates n Speeding: Speed survey in 2014 found that on some days, 10-20% of vehicles were travelling in excess of the 100km/h speed LX s n Driver Distraction: These campaigns have identified mobile phone use as a safety issue n Heavy Vehicles: Catastrophic risk rating of heavy vehicles into passenger service (Kerang) & heavy vehicles over-represented

8 Planning and delivering each campaign Steps along the way include: n Commitment for resources n Pre-campaign teleconference n Public awareness phase n Police enforcement window n Post campaign debrief n Report for LCSC n Police recoup costs

9 Public awareness phase n Starts two weeks prior to the enforcement window n Suite of measures includes: VMS at all approaches to target sites Local radio advertising Letter box drop TfNSW media release

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11 Enforcement phase n Deterrence not Detection use of marked Highway Patrol vehicles n Relies on TfNSW public awareness phase to garner community interest and support n Supported by NSWPF media & social media #Tracksmeantrains n Deployments consider train running times

12 Outcomes and evaluation n LXAEC (pilot Feb 2011) has raised the level of awareness and interest in level crossing road safety of police beyond the areas that have hosted campaigns n During 2015, police detected level crossing traffic offences at over 94 towns/localities

13 Outcomes and evaluation n Examined 124 near hit occurrences between January 2009 and May 2015 at targeted level crossings n Only 11% were recorded following a campaign n Delloitte report for the LCSC (2015) that found the BCR of the LXAEC was 7:1.2 n Male drivers aged over 40 are the most likely to drive contrary to level crossing controls n Motorists that live near level crossings are also more likely to offend n $80,000 annual budget for LXAEC

14 Outcomes and evaluation On 23 September 2015, a road train crashed into the side of a freight train near Narromine in central NSW That was the first fatal LX crash since March 2012 Note the deceleration skid marks Photo supplied by RMS

15 Development of new initiatives Social Media n There is a public appetite for the strategic use of social media promoting level crossing safety Crashed car display n Debriefed a driver involved in a LX crash n Car donated to promote awareness

16 Development of new initiatives Field days display n Pearly Gates, crashed car, rolling video, fill out a questionnaire and receive hat, bottle & bag Stop Signs on disused lines n Members of the public raised concerns with stop signs on disused lines n Measures now being taken to remove stop signs on such lines

17 Taking action together n The LXAEC is an example of a small group of likeminded people coming together to make a contribution to public safety n The selection of sites for will commence shortly n TfNSW is developing a new campaign which they will make available to other states

18 The last word: From the driver who hit a train on 21 April 2016 in northern NSW: The lights didn t turn on Image at left from ABC News Image at right from Daily Telegraph e508175bf326b3ed27b9709a4899

19 Questions Senior Sergeant Mick Timms Traffic and Highway Patrol Command NSW Police Force Don t Rush to the Other Side timm1mic@police.nsw.gov.au