Skip to main content

New guidelines on level crossing safety to help save lives

Road transport organisation the IRU, the International Union of Railways (UIC) and Operation Lifesaver Estonia (OLE) have joined forces to raise awareness about level crossing safety amongst transport professionals. Their recently-published Level Crossing Safety aims to raise awareness of professional drivers of how to avoid risks potentially leading to a collision and reduce related accidents at this key interface between road and rail infrastructure. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
May 10, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Road transport organisation the IRU, the International Union of Railways (UIC) and Operation Lifesaver Estonia (OLE) have joined forces to raise awareness about level crossing safety amongst transport professionals.

Their recently-published Level Crossing Safety aims to raise awareness of professional drivers of how to avoid risks potentially leading to a collision and reduce related accidents at this key interface between road and rail infrastructure.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 1968 Convention on Road Traffic and the Highway Code, states that “trains have priority, whilst road users and pedestrians must comply with road signs and signals in order to cross safely and consequently prevent any collision arising from misuse or inappropriate behaviour and potentially endangering train passengers, crew and other users.”

Global freight and passenger traffic, both road and rail, have increased markedly in recent decades, increasing the risks of collisions at level crossings and, in addition to raising driver awareness, the three organisations hope to enhance knowledge and safety in their design and use.
UTC

Related Content

  • May 1, 2024
    The path to safer roads: America can learn from Europe’s example, says Verra Mobility
    Many US states are establishing road safety programmes that will inspire others. TJ Tiedje, vice president commercial at Verra Mobility, explains why this is important
  • October 30, 2015
    MEPs discuss guidelines for drone use and safety
    As commercial services using drones take off and their recreational use becomes ever more popular, it must be ensured that they pose no threat to public safety or personal privacy, said MEPs in a resolution passed on Thursday on the initiative of the EP transport committee. Drones, which could be used to provide various services, such as inspecting rail tracks, dams, and power plants, assessing natural disasters, crop spraying, film production and parcel delivery have great potential for stimulating economi
  • January 31, 2012
    Harmonisation of Europe's ITS deployment still unbalanced
    Dean Herenda, Chairman of the EasyWay project, talks about the progress made and the progress still to be made in harmonising ITS deployment across the European Union. "The deployment and use of ITS in road transport across Europe was and still is unbalanced" Although Europe can be proud of being home to some of the world's most advanced ITS solutions, the relative disparities between Member States of the European Union (EU) in terms of the extent and technological sophistication of deployments actually sta
  • September 12, 2022
    Hikvision maximises safety with smart video technology
    Around the world, thousands of people are injured or killed in road traffic accidents every day. To maximise safety for motorists and other road users, cities and highways authorities are implementing smart video solutions that alert emergency teams when an accident occurs in real time – supporting faster responses and potentially saving lives, says Juan Sádaba, ITS business development manager at Hikvision Spain