Inquiries, incidents and statistics
Incidents in NSW
Statistical analysis of accidents at railway level crossings over recent years continues to indicate a general trend downwards.
Collisions at railway level crossings (passive v active) in NSW
(Statistical Information supplied by ITSRR)
Fatalities at railway level crossings (vehicle collisions) in NSW
(Statistical Information supplied by ITSRR)
OTSI
The Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) is an independent NSW agency whose purpose is to improve transport safety by investigating accidents and incidents in the rail, bus and ferry industries.
OTSI reports on railway crossing incidents in NSW can be found on its website at www.otsi.nsw.gov.au.
ATSB
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau in its “Monograph of Level Crossing Accidents” reviewed 87 fatal crashes at level crossings nationally between 1988 and 1998 and found:
- railway crossing crashes made up no more than 1% of fatal road crashes in any one year;
- the point of impact was more often the front of the train rather than the side (66%);
- most of the accidents occurred in daylight (83%);
- most occurred in fine weather (85%) ie. a dry road;
- most occurred on a straight (89%) and level (77%) road;
- most occurred in a rural area (67%);
- most occurred at railway crossings with active protection (51%) [10% with boom gates, 41 % another type of active warning system]; and
- drivers over the age of 60 were over-represented in railway crossing crashes than in other fatal road crashes (26% as compared to 10%).
Unintended driver error was more common in level crossing crashes than in other fatal road crashes (46% compared with 22% of other fatal road crashes). The influence of alcohol or drugs was less common as was the influence of excessive speed.
| Causal Factors |
Fatal level crossing crashes |
Other fatal road crashes |
| Adverse weather or road conditions |
13% |
9% |
| Alcohol / drugs |
9% |
31% |
| Fatigue |
3% |
8% |
| Driver error (unintended) |
46% |
22% |
| Excessive speed |
7% |
23% |
| Other risk taking |
3% |
5% |
NSW Parliamentary Staysafe inquiry
The Staysafe (Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety) is a joint standing committee established in 1982 to investigate and report on road safety matters in NSW. Its terms of reference include reviewing ways to reduce the number and severity of road crashes and monitoring the actions taken to address the social and economic consequences of road trauma.
In 2001 the Minister for Transport announced the Staysafe inquiry into railway crossing safety. The NSW Level Crossing Strategy Council (LCSC) submission was given to the inquiry in August of that year.
The Staysafe inquiry sought public submissions, held public hearings and carried out a number of railway crossing site inspections in conjunction with LCSC members and delegates.
The final report for the Staysafe inquiry was released in October 2004. The Goverment supported the majority of recommendations in that report and their implementation is monitored by the LCSC.
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