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Spotting the signs: situation awareness at level crossingsPresented by Stephanie Cynk

11Level crossings in Britain are very safePage 2

but incidents still occur2These images are from BBC news and they show a very small sample of news items about level crossings from the last 5 years.Total risk at level crossings is calculated at 11.3 Fatalities and Weighted Injuries (FWI) per year, and this is approximately eight percent of the total risk on GB railways [1].In 2011/12, there were more than 3,800 reported incidents of misuse by road users at level crossings [1], and it is thought that these incidents are under-reported. The need to tackle the issue of road user behaviour at level crossings is therefore very clear. Level crossing signsPage 3

3Where road user behaviour is concerned, level crossing incidents can be caused by errors or violations. An example of an error might be when someone is distracted and doesnt see the level crossing lights, and passes through the crossing. A violation is where they see the lights are flashing red and know that they should stop, but they make a conscious decision to keep driving through.

Signs, signals and markings are some of the measures in place which aim to affect road users behaviour at level crossings, but current signing schemes have grown up organically, with new signs being added over the decades following incidents etc. The result is that on the approach to a level crossing people may come across a variety of signs.

In 2009 RSSB commissioned a root and branch review of signing requirements at level crossings to determine, without the influence of the legacy of previous requirements and constraints, the types of signs, signals and markings that would be most effective in reducing road user errors at level crossings, and consequently whether improvements can be made on existing arrangements.

T756 Signs and signals at level crossingsCommissioned by RSSB in 2009A root and branch review of signing requirementsWithout the influence of previous requirements and constraints, What would be most effective in reducing road user errors at level crossings?Page 5Situation awarenessPerceptionComprehensionProjectionTake in information through senses(Endsley, 1995; Endsley, 2000)Use information to forecast future eventsAssign meaning to information5The aim of these traffic signs is to make road users aware of what to expect in their environment and in some cases to tell them how to behave; in other words to improve their situation awareness. SA is a concept that has grown out of the aviation industry. It has three levels:Perception, which involves taking in information through the sensesComprehension, which is about assigning a meaning to the information, through processes such as combination, interpretation, storage and retrievalProjection, the highest level of situation awareness, in which information about current events is used to forecast future eventsPoor situation awareness has been identified as a primary factor in accidents involving human error [3], and could be associated with incidents at level crossings.

Page 6Situation awarenessPerceptionComprehensionProjectionI see a triangular warning sign and light signals aheadAn exampleI must brake because the barrier will come down and a train will pass through the crossing. I expect other traffic to stop too.The light signals are flashing which means stop6Blocking backPage 7When vehicle drivers enter the level crossing at a time when the crossing exit is blocked (eg by queuing traffic)

7Blocking BackThe cause of approximately 7% of the risk associated with vehicles at level crossingsNever drive onto a crossing until the road is clear on the other side.

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Another train comingAbout 10% of the risk associated with pedestrians at level crossings The primary indications signals provided continue to flash red, the barriers, if provided, stay downAdditional measures The tone of the audible alarm changes A sign A signalPage 9

9Another train comingSound 1 alarm for first trainSound 2 starts immediately as first train passes, to indicate that another train will passPage 10

10Research questionsPage 11Does participants awareness of the potential for more than one train to pass through the crossing vary by type of level crossing?Do current second train warning signs and sounds affect awareness of the potential for second trains?Are participants aware that they should not enter the level crossing before the crossing exit is clear?Is awareness of blocking back dependent on level crossing type if a lorry is parked at the level crossing exit?11Page 12Open CrossingYour text

12Page 13Automatic Open CrossingYour text

13Page 14Automatic Half Barrier CrossingYour text

14Page 15Automatic Half Barrier Crossing (Max)Your text

15Page 16Manually Controlled BarrierYour text

16Page 17MCGYour text

17Another train comingPage 18Page 19Were any road signs present in the video? If so, which ones?Level 1 & 2 situation awarenessAnother train comingOnly shown in one scenario 30 presentations in total4 recalled its presence

19Did the level crossing have a barrier?Generally high awarenessOne participant viewing the AHB Max said there was no barrierThree who viewed the AOCL said there was a barrierPage 20Level 1 situation awareness

20Page 21Barrier positionScenarioNAssumed barrier would riseAHB2927MCG3029MCB3129AHB Max2922Level 2&3 situation awarenessGenerally high awareness that where barrier was present, it was blocking the road21Page 22Did the level crossing have light signals?Level 1 situation awarenessGenerally high awarenessFour participants viewing the MCG said there were signals (and a further two were unsure)

22Page 23Signal aspectLevel 2&3 situation awarenessGenerally high awarenessOne participant thought steady amber instead of redResponses for MCG scenario variedScenarioNAssumed wig-wags would changeMCB3027AHB Max2926AHB292623Page 24Would you expect another train to pass through the crossing after the first one?ExpectationNumberYes, a further train could pass 17No, a further train could not pass2Unsure11Level 3 situation awareness *with significant prompting24Blocking backPage 25Page 26Were any road signs present? If so, which ones?Keep Crossing Clear sign

Keep Crossing ClearGenerally only one or two participants in each scenario recalled it (when it was presented)

Almost a quarter recalled the sign in the Open Crossing scenario

26Page 27Were there any other road users in the scene?Level 1 situation awarenessGenerally high awareness of other road usersOne participant in AHB Max and MCB scenarios said there were no other road users present15 out of 21 drivers in the MCG scenario said there were no other road users

27Only car drivers, bus drivers and HGV drivers were included in the remainder of the analysis, which focussed on the crossing exit being blocked by a stationary lorry. This is because these are the only road users whose progress would be affected by a lorry parked on the other side of the crossing.

Page 28Progress through the sceneScenarioNNumber who saw other road usersNumber who saw the lorryNumber who would proceedAHB1818173AHB Max1918183AOCL1818173MCB2221213MCG21151011OC2222226Level 2&3 situation awareness28DiscussionParticipants recall of signs was lowThe Open Crossing was the notably different scenario Expectation may play an important role in recollectionRecalling light signals where there werenoneRecalling barriers where there were noneAwareness for the potential of more than one train passing through the crossing was generally lowExisting measures make a difference (but a very small difference)DiscussionIn most scenarios, participants were aware of other road usersMCG scenario produced different resultsParticipants mostly said that they would not proceed onto the crossingBut almost a quarter of participants said they wouldPage 30ConclusionsAnother train coming measures do have an effectBut only a small effectThere is some awareness of the need to Keep crossing clearBut there is room for improvement

Page 32Do YouHave Any Questions?

Page 33Thank you

Presented by Dan BasacikSenior Human Factors Researcher

Email: dbasacik@trl.co.uk

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