A researcher from the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation is calling for respondents to a survey which hopes to uncover hidden statistics relating to level crossing incidents and near misses.
Australia has more than 20,000 rail level crossings, and 76% of rail-related accidents take place at active crossings.
“Simply upgrading crossings will not eliminate the death toll,” the ACRI researcher said in late April.
“While the Australian rail level crossing death toll is significant, there is a much larger data set that could be collected to help with preventing rail-related accidents.
“That data set is near miss data. It is widely believed that near misses are under-reported.”
Therefore, the ACRI is calling for rail employers and employees to take part in the survey, to shine a light on new data on near misses, and other level crossing incidents.
“You are invited to participate in the rail level crossing near miss survey,” the ACRI told the industry.
“This survey has been designed to better understand what a near miss is and what motivates train drivers to report near misses. This information aims to explore the train drivers construction of a near miss, what motivates train drivers to report near misses, and if organisational culture plays a role in reporting near misses.”
To take part in the survey, click here.