International Level Crossing Awareness Day to Take Place in Montreal

Car hit at LC in Belgium / Image courtesy of INFRABEL

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) are co-hosting the 9th International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) in Montreal, Canada, on 2 June 2017. The aim of the event is to raise awareness about the dangers surrounding level crossings.

The international conference launches the annual worldwide level crossing safety campaign. In 2016 UIC brought together over 40 countries to participate in this global event, either by relaying it on their websites or on social media, or by organising a range of activities around ILCAD day.

Level Crossing Deaths in the EU28

According to Eurostat, citing November 2016 data, two types of accidents caused 99% of fatalities in the survey period in the EU28: accidents caused by rolling stock in motion and accidents happening at level crossings.

For the whole of the EU28 the total number of fatalities involving level crossings in 2015 was 314
Of those 314, 4 were passengers, 5 were employees, and 305 were ‘other’
In that same reporting period, 292 were seriously injured
Among the seriously injured, 14 were passengers, 12 were employees and 266 were ‘other’
The total figure for persons killed or seriously injured in accidents involving level crossings in the EU28 in 2015 was 606
There is great variation among the EU28, with Poland recording 55 deaths, Germany 50 deaths and France 27 deaths
Several countries had 0 level crossing fatalities in 2015, including Ireland, Luxembourg and Lichtenstein
The UK fared very well with just 2, Spain had 7 deaths, Italy had 8

Level Crossing Deaths Around the World

Canada: 15 fatalities and 18 serious injures in 2015, 19 fatalities and 24 serious injuries in 2016 (Operation Lifesaver)
14% of rail accidents in Canada were crossing accidents (Transportation Safety Board of Canada)
USA: 233 fatalities in 2015, 265 fatalities in 2016 (Operation Lifesaver, FRA data)
India: 2,575 level crossing deaths in 2014, an increase of 83.5% from 2013 (Hindustan Times, National Crime Records Bureau data)
Total number of railway fatalities in India in 2014 (for comparison): 27,581 (Hindustan Times)
Australia: there are roughly 23,500 level crossings in the country with an average annual death toll of 37 according to RISSB
South Africa: 10 fatalities in 2011/12 according to the Railway Safety Regulator RSR

9th International Level Crossing Awareness Day

Road users are on the increase and with increasingly automated signalling systems and developments, the conflicts between rail traffic and road users and pedestrians is bound to grow. This year’s programme focuses on several key areas such as the behaviour of road users and pedestrians, trespassing and suicide prevention, engineering, innovative solutions and education and community outreach; see the full ILCAD programme.